26-01-2012, 06:39 PM
1
This is scary
AN 85-year-old woman had a lucky escape today after driving down a high-speed railway line for 80 yards after taking a wrong turn at a level crossing.The woman had a 20-year-old man in her car as she drove towards Brockenhurst station in Hampshire's New Forest.
She turned on to the main line between Bournemouth and London Waterloo and drove for 80 yards on the tracks before her car came to a halt.
A British Transport Police spokesman said: "BTP and Hampshire Police officers attended the line near to Brockenhurst rail station after a report that a car had been driven on to the line from the level crossing.
"Paramedics from the South Central Ambulance Service are also on scene. An 85-year-old woman driver and 20-year-old man were in the car at the time have been treated for shock, but no other injuries have been reported.
26-01-2012, 07:16 PM
4
Re: This is scary
Originally Posted by maryl
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Crickey Jean, that's not far from me. How can you drive along a railway line and not know it? It will be in the local paper tomorrow evening I expect.
27-01-2012, 12:38 AM
7
Re: This is scary
The 20 year old lad may not have been a driver, and may not have known the area, and that's perhaps why they didn't get far down the railway line when he realised that the old lady had made a mistake. 80 yards isn't very far and the car was brought to a halt when the driver realised her mistake.Yes, 85 is very old to be driving. My ex-husband until recently worked for the Earl of Mulgrave, and his mother, the Duchess, is 90 and still drives, albeit only into the nearby village.
In this country you have to apply for a new driving licence at the age of 70 and it could have been a genuine mistake. We all make them, like the 18-wheeler that came down our one-way street at work the other week, the wrong way!
The old girl will no doubt have to be re-assessed again, but that mistake could have cost a lot of lives.
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