If you live in Houston, and you’ve seen some of the city’s older residents behind the wheel, you know that they can sometimes be a hazard to themselves and others. Some senior citizens maintain their eyesight, reflexes, and motor skills well into old age, but others lose some of those abilities and become dangerous drivers.
Imagine, for a moment, an accident between a teenager and an elderly driver. The teen is likely to survive the wreck, as young people are much more resilient and healthy than older people. Generally, if the fault of a wreck is questionable, police will err on the side of trusting a more experienced driver. In this case, though, the more experienced driver could very well be at fault, due to fogged sight or poor response time. The older person is much more likely to sustain more severe injuries or die from the accident, as well.
In this case, the young driver will need to call one of the trustworthy accident lawyers in Houston like Kirkendall Dwyer LLP because he or she could be brought up on charges of vehicular manslaughter if the older person were to die in the wreck.
Accident lawyers in Houston and other cities will advise senior citizens to get their vision checked and their driving skills tested on a regular basis. While it may seem like giving up a piece of your freedom to give up your license, imagine how much worse it could be for you and your family if you were to cause an accident because you could not see or respond in time.
Even if you do feel that you’re perfectly able to drive, well into your senior years, you should keep the contact information for one of the accident lawyers in Houston on-hand. If you’re in an accident that isn’t your fault, you’ll need representation to get compensation for damage to your vehicle, potential medical bills, and pain and suffering.