According to the dashcam owner and witness, she wasn’t wearing a seatbelt either.
Presumed South Carolina resident and Redditor /u/SunDriedHumor posted up dashcam footage to the /r/IdiotsInCars subreddit earlier today showing the surprising moment an older driver cut straight across a busy street through a median despite an obstructed view and crashed.
Check out /u/SunDriedHumor’s post and video below.
[Oc] Just drive through the median, especially when another car obstructs your view.
byu/SunDriedHumor inIdiotsInCars
The accident happened in the 5100 block of Ashley Phosphate Rd in North Charleston, SC right across from the Plantation Shopping Center whereabouts the elderly driver exited (exact location on Google Maps linked here.)
As OP’s video shows, it looks like the elderly driver in a white Toyota RAV-4 tried to make a beeline from the driveway of the Plantation Shopping Center to the Hardees on the other side of the road.
Here’s a screenshot of that POV thanks to Google Maps.
Another car blocks the elderly driver’s view. As a result, she doesn’t see a car already travelling down Ashley Phosphate Road.
The fast approaching car T-bones the RAV-4 on her passenger side quarter panel, causing her to spin.
She continues driving and almost crashes into OP before she manages to throw it into park, stopping.
“Older lady, and she wasn’t wearing a seatbelt either,” OP explains.
“I assumed she would roll into my lane, but somehow engaged Park before doing so.”
“Looks like she can’t even see over the dash,” /u/slothvader comments.
If this is a case of an elderly driver being behind the wheel when she’s at the point in her life where she shouldn’t be, it’s up to responding officers, not to mention friends and family, to recommend she relinquish her license for her safety and the safety of others around her.
I couldn’t find any official South Carolina DMV links pointing me to information on how to report elderly drivers, but there seems to be a process for police officers to Request for Driver Re-Examination.
This is yet another reminder to keep your driving wits about you and to drive defensively at all times because sometimes actual idiots cause accidents.
But, in this case, it’s probably not so much an idiot but a driver past their prime.
