Pensioner races through Ulm car wash and crashed into a house wall!

Pensioner races through Ulm car wash and crashed into a house wall!

Junginger Straße, 89073 Ulm, Deutschland - What happened there? Last Tuesday morning there was an extremely explosive incident in a car wash in Ulm, which amazed both employees and customers. A 76-year-old man who and his VW Golf drove into the car wash of a petrol station on Junginger Strasse at around 10 a.m. caused excitement. After the first cleaning station, the senior Inexplicable pressed the accelerator pedal and raced through the system, which prompted an employee to get to safety at the last second, like the Schwäbische Zeitung reported.

The Seniors' VW Golf collided shortly afterwards against a house wall on the opposite side. The damage that the vehicle left behind is estimated at around 2000 euros. The building itself could get away with around 5000 euros. A spokesman for the Ulm police confirmed the investigation against the driver for hazardous to road traffic. After consultation with the public prosecutor, he was also withdrawn from the driving license, which is not unusual in such cases.

dangers in road traffic by older drivers

In public perception, it is often discussed how certainly older drivers actually are in road traffic. According to a recent study, older drivers (from 65 years) are more often the main cause of traffic accidents with personal injury. In 2022, 68.7 % of this age group wore the main debt of accidents, with the value for drivers over 75 years even 76.6 %. For comparison: under 65-year-olds were the cause in 55.2 % of the cases. These figures make it clear that there are particularly many challenges for seniors, such as the Show.

It is particularly alarming that older drivers often disregard the right of way or make mistakes when turning. Nevertheless, they are less often alcoholic in road traffic than their younger counterparts. But the question remains: What needs to be done to increase security on the streets and prevent potential accidents like that in Ulm? The exchange with young, active drivers is also becoming increasingly important in order to create a better understanding of traffic safety.

More support for seniors

The need to support seniors while driving and to draw attention to possible dangers is becoming increasingly clear. Here programs and training could help to refresh the driving skills. Such measures could become particularly important with regard to the increasing number of older road users. Because while older people are less likely to be involved in accidents, their probability of survival is less after an accident, which makes the topic all the more pressing.

The situation in the Ulm car wash should therefore stimulate us to think. How can we improve traffic safety for all age groups and thus prevent such incidents in the future? It is to be hoped that these discussions will soon be put into concrete measures to make driving safer for everyone involved.