My Mom wrecked her 2012 Camry yesterday. She said the brakes failed & the car only stopped when it ran into a building. What's the best way to determine whether it was confusion vs. brake malfunction? Any other ideas for us? Thank you for any advice.
88 year old confusing brake with accelerator (maybe)
- Thread starter HtownRose
- Start date
I have read that "pedal confusion" happens many times a day in this country with both older and younger drivers. It's more than likely that this happened, but any competent mechanic should be able to check the brakes.
jazz4cash
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
The brake pedal sits higher than the accelerator. I always thought that was backwards because the driver’s foot can slip off the brake pedal onto the accelerator.
rk911
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Any competent automotive service garage can inspect the braking system and determine it's condition. Hope your mom is ok.
I listen to old reruns of Car Talk and there are cases where brakes failed temporarily and a subsequent inspection was unable to determine the cause. It is not the norm but can happen.
jazz4cash
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
No Higher Authority than click and clack.
Andre1969
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I think they do it that way, to make it impossible to accidentally hit both at the same time. Or, if you somehow manage to do it, you'll be pressing harder on the brake than on the accelerator, so the brakes should hold you back.
disneysteve
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2021
- Messages
- 2,443
I hope your mom is okay.
Sorry but if your mother is 88, I guarantee that her brakes would have worked just fine had she actually applied them. Someone that age should not be driving. As much as we hate to admit it, our abilities decline as we age, especially when we get into our 70s and 80s and beyond. Our cognitive function is slower. Our reaction time is slower. We just don't process stuff as quickly as when we're younger.
We finally made my mom stop driving about 6 or 7 years ago right around that same age. We had been pushing her to stop for years. She had had a couple of thankfully minor accidents that she swore weren't her fault but clearly were as she was the only car involved. What finally forced the issue was her rear ending a woman who happened to be pregnant. Everyone was fine thankfully but my mom's car was wrecked and she admitted she didn't know what had happened. That was the end of driving for her.
Use this as your opportunity to do what I'm sure you've wanted to do for a while and get her off the road before she hurts someone else or herself.
pjm-7
Recycles dryer sheets
My mom was 87 when this happened to her. The vehicle was is good working condition and she confused the brake and the accelerator. She totaled the car into the concrete base of a light pole.
We wanted to take her license then but she refused. We finally contacted the state where she lived (Ohio) to see what they would do. Come to find out that the officer who investigated the accident could have done a temporary revocation on the spot but didn't. She could not pass a written test, she could not recognize the pictures of the signs. She was upset that she would never drive again. After some physical tests she was diagnosed with Parkinsons.
Please for everybody's safety do not let her drive again. If she is in an accident that seriously injures or kills someone there is a possibility that you could also be held responsible since you knew her capabilities were diminished.
We wanted to take her license then but she refused. We finally contacted the state where she lived (Ohio) to see what they would do. Come to find out that the officer who investigated the accident could have done a temporary revocation on the spot but didn't. She could not pass a written test, she could not recognize the pictures of the signs. She was upset that she would never drive again. After some physical tests she was diagnosed with Parkinsons.
Please for everybody's safety do not let her drive again. If she is in an accident that seriously injures or kills someone there is a possibility that you could also be held responsible since you knew her capabilities were diminished.
street
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I remember as a kid the elderly man that lived behind us. Miss taken the pedals. He went through his own garage than came through our yard, side swiped another garage and hit the next garage dead center and the car inside that garage stopped him.
My mom was in the kitchen and thought it was going to go through our home. We felt very bad for the man he had been living alone for many years.
My mom was in the kitchen and thought it was going to go through our home. We felt very bad for the man he had been living alone for many years.
disneysteve
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2021
- Messages
- 2,443
My mom lives in a senior apartment building. Several years a resident walking in the parking lot got run over and killed by another resident who probably hit the gas instead of the brake. That person never should have been driving. It’s a disgrace that we don’t require drivers to do periodic evaluations. One test when you’re 16 and you’re allowed to drive until you die. It’s ludicrous. You could be all but blind, have crippling arthritis and dementia and still be getting in your car every day.
A number of states have special rules for older drivers (more frequent renewal, testing, etc.). I think this is a very good idea and wish more states would address the issue.
Here is a pretty good summary by state:
Driving laws for older drivers by state
Here is a pretty good summary by state:
Driving laws for older drivers by state
Ronstar
Moderator Emeritus
MIL was about 91 when she did the same thing. Jumped the curb and lodged herself into a furniture store. Later at the hospital, she told the doctor that she thought she passed out while driving. The hospital ran 3 or 4 days of tests and didn't find anything that would cause her to pass out. Doctor said that she would have to be medically approved before allowed to drive again due to the passing out claim. Neither the doc or DW was about to let her drive again.
Luckily nobody was seriously injured.
The car was totaled, and we turned in her drivers license. MIL hasn't driven or wanted to drive since that accident 4 years ago.
OP - If I were you, I'd give serious thought to having mom's driving privileges suspended.
Luckily nobody was seriously injured.
The car was totaled, and we turned in her drivers license. MIL hasn't driven or wanted to drive since that accident 4 years ago.
OP - If I were you, I'd give serious thought to having mom's driving privileges suspended.
Last edited:
Koolau
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Today's brakes are so redundant that failure is almost unheard of unless the brakes have been tampered with - which would be obvious to any decent mechanic - post accident. I'd have them checked. Tampering would be more scary than an aged driver making a mistake with the pedals as it would indicate ill will and gross disregard for human life.
I jumped in my car a couple of years ago and took off as usual. Approaching a stop sign, the car didn't respond to the brake pedal as usual, but I simply pushed harder and the brakes w*rked well enough to get me stopped safely. I got out of the car and saw brake fluid dripping underneath. One of the redundant brake lines had failed, so I had both sets replaced. The redundant master cylinder was fine. The car was 22 years old at the time. I don't recall hearing of a total brake failure though I suppose it has happened. YMMV
I jumped in my car a couple of years ago and took off as usual. Approaching a stop sign, the car didn't respond to the brake pedal as usual, but I simply pushed harder and the brakes w*rked well enough to get me stopped safely. I got out of the car and saw brake fluid dripping underneath. One of the redundant brake lines had failed, so I had both sets replaced. The redundant master cylinder was fine. The car was 22 years old at the time. I don't recall hearing of a total brake failure though I suppose it has happened. YMMV
Badger
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2008
- Messages
- 3,485
Some of the states are a little scary to drive. What I don't understand is there is no actual driving test to check awareness and reaction time in addition to the vision test. Maybe the testers at the state dept of motor vehicles are a bit wary of getting in the car with a senior or maybe the state is afraid of liability.
At 75 and DW at 77 I would have no opposition for either me or my DW taking any test they have every couple of years. I think most people feel they are still safe to drive at any age but I would feel a lot better driving in Florida knowing people were still tested and approved for the privilege .
Not old........I had a pair of hiking boots that were sorta large they caused me a couple times to miss feel the gas pedal in stead of the brake , only happened with theses shoes in an off road vehicle, my brain says i was on the brake and the harder I press ( second or less) it would not stop, it was weird, no damage cause I figured it out in time.
Koolau
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
YEARS ago, I somehow pushed the gas instead of the brake (big feet, small car, dontcha know. I'm sure I was in my early 50s at the time.) I recall my thought process: "If the car is accelerating, I'm not pushing the brake!" That's all I needed to try again (all within half a second.) I remember concluding that all those "possessed-car" stories had to be bunk. If the car accelerates, you're pushing the (wait for it) accelerator - not the brake. I hope I'm that self aware if such should ever happen again. My "big" cars now should help prevent that "big-foot" problem as I age, I hope. YMMV
TheWizard
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
There are some people who drive incorrectly, using their left foot on the brake and right foot on the accelerator pedal.
A bit of a different issue...
