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80-year-old woman prompts highway panic

Published: 30 May 10 12:31 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/26934/20100530/

Startled motorists called the police in droves on Sunday morning to report a car driving against the traffic on the E4 motorway near Arlanda airport.

Police eventually managed to get the 80-year-old driver of the vehicle to pull over ten kilometres south of the airport.

“Unfortunately the car managed to travel way too far. We were completely inundated with calls from people who met the car on the E4,” said police spokeswoman Carina Andersson.

Police said the woman probably came onto the motorway by accident from a slipway by the airport.

A steady stream of drivers encountered the wayward octogenarian driving in the northbound lane. There were no reports of any injuries but one driver was in a state of shock after swerving into the ditch at Stora Väsby in order to avoid a collision.

The woman is suspected of negligence while operating a motor vehicle.

TT/The Local (news@thelocal.se/08 656 6518)

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12:56 May 30, 2010 by blursd
If she's 80 then she might have forgotton Sweden switched to driving on the right side of the road a while back ... I wouldn't be surprised if she had low grade dimentia and forgot (or something along those lines).
13:17 May 30, 2010 by Jimmy
I heard that her daughter was worried about the reports of a car travelling the wrong way. She rang her mother up to warn her. The elderly lady told her daughter that it wasn't just one car travelling the wrong way but all of them.
14:05 May 30, 2010 by Rick Methven
"The woman is SUSPECTED of negligence while operating a motor vehicle"

Only suspected?

I suppose that the Police have to verify the statements of the drivers who reported her and breathalyse them to make sure they where not hallucinating while under the influence. The driver who drove in the ditch to avoid her should also be checked out and be 'suspected' of drunk driving
14:06 May 30, 2010 by GLO
Well that says it all....
17:51 May 30, 2010 by Puffin
@Rick

You are always suspected until you are convicted :-)
19:07 May 30, 2010 by voiceofreason
Old people have a tendency to forget things, Alzheimer is a major ailment of old age. They deserve our empathy, not ridicule or mockery. We we all get old some day.
23:48 May 30, 2010 by wxman
Voiceofreason is right, old folks do have these problems and should neither be judged nor ridiculed. However, we probably need to do a better job of weeding them our of the driving public. They don't like having their freedom removed, but we can't very well allow them to proceed and jeopardize innocent lives. Sad, nobody wants to be treated like a child again.
08:43 May 31, 2010 by Snoopy!
Plain & simple , 80 does not = safety on the roads, get off! & catch a bus ,taxi,train . 80= take it easy for the rest of your life , not inadvertently potentially kill others.
08:44 May 31, 2010 by wabasha
good for her! when I'm old I want to to loose my licence the same way.
12:56 June 1, 2010 by RadioBob
@voiceofreason:

We deserve safe roads. Driving licenses should have a considerably shorter period before renewal after certain ages are reached. This allows for a reasonable and periodic opportunity to verify that a person still has the full ability to operate a piece of machinery that can kills on contact.
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