Teen alleging rape turns to YouTube - CNN.com(CNN) -- The video is hard to turn away from. A sobbing 16-year-old sits in her bedroom and, staring into a camera, says she has been raped.
Crystal, 16, of Florida posted a video on YouTube pleading for help after she allegedly was raped.
"Hi, my name is Crystal. ... I need some help. I didn't want to do it this way, but it's the only way I know that's going to work, that someone out there in the world is gonna listen to me."
The teen, whom CNN interviewed but is not identifying by her last name, is among dozens of young people who are turning to social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace to talk about sexual assault.
For an online generation, the Web offers what traditional counseling does not. It's a chance to communicate without having to face someone or fear their judgment. Some people are seeking legal advice and medical information, and many younger victims believe that they can warn others about their accused attacker, counselors say.
There also are people like Crystal, whose case was dropped by the Orange County, Florida, state attorney's office, who feel slighted by the justice system.
"Young victims, particularly girls, turn inward. They are going to reach out and try to connect in the isolation of their dorm room or their bedrooms," said Jennifer Dritt, the director of the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence. "Most young women feel like they want somebody to know that someone did this to them."
One in four American women under the age of 25 report that they have been sexually assaulted, according to the nation's largest rape crisis counseling organization, RAINN, the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network.
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"We noticed that this trend of posting details of an attack really picked up speed a few years ago," said Scott Berkowitz, RAINN's founder and president. "A rape survivor's intention may be to reach out, and we encourage that, but this is a dangerous way to do it."
Advocates worry that victims are divulging too much information. CNN found several Facebook and MySpace profiles on which young people say they have been raped. The postings include their names, photographs and hometowns. But Crystal is probably one of the few who have gone so far as to post a plea for help on YouTube.
Because anything posted on the Web is available forever through an Internet search, a rape survivor must consider how they would feel if that information were dredged up in the future, counselors said. By making themselves -- or their IP address -- available, victims open themselves to unreliable and unprofessional advice and the harsh judgment of their peers.
Perhaps worst of all, they could give their perpetrator a chance to find them again or gain more satisfaction.
In April, RAINN teamed with online security company McAfee Inc. and launched an anonymous and secure chat service where assault survivors can communicate with trained professionals. IP addresses are not tracked and transcripts of conversations -- which look like instant message boxes -- are not recorded. The service has helped more than 10,000 people, Berkowitz said. Go to RAINN's Web hotline
But counselors said survivors are going to look wherever they can to find help and comfort, particularly when they don't get it through the court system.
Fewer than 5 percent of reported cases in Florida make it to a prosecutor's office, Dritt said. Whether because of lack of forensic evidence or because many are he said/she said accounts, rape cases can be very difficult to try.
"What you hear from every rape crisis center from Pensacola to Key West is that there are hardly ever any prosecutions," she said. "Most sexual violence is acquaintance rape, and unfortunately, a lot of juries still think that if a victim had a relationship with their attacker, then they cannot be raped by that person."
Stacy, 25, worried about that when she was raped by a man she knew as a friend in 2001 while attending Ohio State University. Although she has spoken publicly numerous times about her experience, CNN is not using her last name in keeping with its policy of not identifying sexual assault victims.
As is typical of younger survivors, Stacy spent the days and weeks after her assault struggling to assure her friends and family that she was OK. She reported the assault to university authorities, but her attacker continued to go to class. She grew increasingly depressed and anxious. Her grades plummeted, and she gained weight.
"I thought that people who had never been assaulted would never understand. I thought I had no one to talk to, but then I realized, I had the Internet," she said. "Sometimes, talking to people who were not close to me was refreshing because there was no judgment to face. If you talk to someone online, there's no judgment, right? How can they judge you when they don't even know you?"
She began instant messaging in chat rooms but quickly realized that many people who initially seemed sympathetic were only pretending.
"The next thing you know, they are making it seem like they are turned on. They were asking me for details of my rape. It was very disturbing," she said. "I had to block several people. After that, I thought the worst of the world. I thought everyone was a perpetrator, and I trusted no one."
After years of face-to-face therapy, Stacy began to heal and feel more confident. She partly credits RAINN, which she found via an Internet search, for helping her recover. Other female students came forward to say they, too, had been assaulted by her attacker. He was expelled from the university and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge -- sexual imposition, a misdemeanor -- and was placed on probation.
Stacy watched Crystal's video.
"That's just heartbreaking," she said. "I feel really sad for her because no one seems to have explained that the justice system isn't always going to help. I understand why she's outraged. That's exactly how I felt, too."
Orange County authorities charged the 23-year-old man Crystal accused of assaulting her with lewd or lascivious battery. According to court documents, Crystal and the man both said they had an ongoing sexual relationship.
The prosecutor, who declined to comment to CNN, concluded that the teen and the 23-year-old had consensual sex, according to the case file.
Florida law states that a 15-year-old cannot give consent to sex. And though Crystal was 15 at the time of the alleged forced encounter, the prosecutor wrote that the case would not be prosecuted because Crystal was "a mere 1 month away" from turning 16, when it would be "legal to give consent," according to documents.
A spokeswoman for the Orange County state attorney's office declined to comment further.
Stacy had some advice for Crystal: Get counseling and keep talking.
"You're not always going to get what you want from the court system," she said. "So you've got to think about yourself, figure out who you are and realize that you're stronger than what he did to you."
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Teen alleging rape turns to YouTube - CNN.com
China aftermath: Total chaos, small miracles - CNN.com
China aftermath: Total chaos, small miracles - CNN.com(CNN) -- iReporter Ben Geisler rode his motorcycle into some of the areas hardest hit in Monday's earthquake.
A girl finds some ice cream that's still frozen on Wednesday in a village near Qingchengshan.
Geisler said he was able to get within about 15 miles (25 kilometers) of the quake's epicenter Wednesday, but some areas are still accessible only by air.
He said it took several hours to make the 25-mile (40 kilometer) trip from Chengdu to Dujiangyan because of the "mass exodus" of people in cars and on motorcycles, on bicycles and on foot, carrying everything they had left from their shattered cities and towns.
"I'm fortunate to have a motorcycle and be able to navigate between lanes of traffic, use access roads, ride the wrong direction down one way roads just to get into an area that everyone's trying to get out of," he said.
Geisler was on the 17th floor of a Chengdu office building when the quake struck and said he "could feel the marble tiles on the walls cracking underneath my hands."
Watch Geisler describe riding out the quake »
The Idaho Falls, Idaho, native is the operations manager for an international relocation company and works as an English-language broadcaster for Chinese media.iReport.com: Are you there? Send your photos and videos
He described the dramatic journey in an e-mail to CNN, which is reprinted below:
I left the city today to get a better idea of the situation. I rode out of Chengdu toward Dujiangyan.
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Almost all traffic was headed out of the city, lanes clogged. Filling stations that were still open had lines that extended for blocks. Nearer the center, the extent of the destruction was obvious.
I came into Dujiangyan off of an access road, all of the roads leading to and away from the expressway were completely blocked by traffic, military vehicles, mobile aid stations.
Choppers were touching constantly to deliver supplies. I made my way farther in -- total chaos.
The extent is unbelievable. Some buildings leveled, others undamaged. People everywhere, living everywhere, crying.
Refugee-type camps set up amid the red cross tents, enormous piles of rubble, garbage etc. Half-destroyed buildings everywhere, some shifting.
Dozens of cranes, dozers, backhoes, etc. picking through the rubble, unburied bodies in the street.
Others coming out of the wreckage continually, some survivors, some worse. Field hospitals occupy several open areas.
Fortunately, the rain has stopped for now, there are fears that the sun and the cooler temperatures at night will complicate the situation by causing dehydration and hypothermia.
The military seems to be making progress. I saw several hundred rescue workers deployed, marching military-style in orange jumpsuits.
I tried to get deeper into the zone, but was stopped in a village above Dujiangyan.
Road marginally passable. Old wooden construction all flattened especially buildings built on the hillsides. Boulders partially blocking the road.
A continuous stream of people, with whatever they could salvage, walking toward the camps; sense of community the only armor against the night.
Large-scale aid does not seem to have reached the villages.
I turned back to Dujiangyan and worked my way around Qingchengshan.
Not as damaged there, but much the same situation as Dujiangyan. People everywhere, short on supplies of food, water, blankets, first aid. The far side of Qingchengshan was less damaged. I talked with locals for an hour who said the only aid received so far is water and rice. No power, no gas, no running water, no telephone.
The quake has destroyed everything they own.
Only upside was a girl discovered a freezer with ice cream that had not thawed. Small miracle.
911 dispatcher gets pink slip after cursing caller - CNN.com
911 dispatcher gets pink slip after cursing caller - CNN.comNASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- A Nashville, Tennessee, 911 operator has been fired after he was recorded saying that he didn't "give a s---" about what happened to a woman who had just called to report her ex-boyfriend was threatening her.
Emergency Communications Center spokeswoman Amanda Sluss said Wednesday that Frank Roth was in training during the February incident and was fired a month later.
Roth made the comments after promising police would arrive soon for a woman who called saying her ex-boyfriend held her at knifepoint and later was threatening her.
After hanging up with her but while still being recorded, he said, "I really don't give a s--- what happens to you."
Sluss says the incident is not reflective of how 911 operators treat callers and that "a series of errors" led to the delay in response to Sheila Jones.
"Certainly this particular caller didn't receive the service she deserved," Sluss said. "This is not indicative of how our employees treat citizens. It's not something that should have been said. It's not what we train our employees to do."
It took police three hours to reach the scene after the first call.
Nashville TV station WTVF first reported the story after one of its reporters obtained the 911 recording.
Five common ticketing errors -- and how to avoid them - CNN.com
Five common ticketing errors -- and how to avoid them - CNN.com(Tribune Media Services) -- As far as mistakes go, the one Janet Gordon recently made didn't seem like a big deal. She booked an airline ticket from Toronto to London under the name "Jan."
But what happened next could only be summed up in one word -- "chaos" -- says her husband, David.
"It was a major hassle," remembers Gordon, a human resources director for a college in Swansea, England. At almost every turn, the couple had to explain why the name on Jan's ticket didn't match her passport. "The computers wouldn't allow us to check in and issue a boarding card," he says.
In a business where slip-ups are almost as common as surcharges, the wrong-name-on-my-ticket error is a standout. You don't have to look far for ticketing mistakes in an age of do-it-yourself booking. Take it from me: not only do I write the Travel Troubleshooter column, a question-and-answer feature that helps people solve real-world problems, but I'm also an expert on errors.
I'll get to my own shortcomings in a minute. But right now, let's review the five biggest booking blunders -- and how they could have been prevented:
Wrong name on my ticket
Before 9/11, airlines and security personnel -- and I use the term "security personnel" loosely -- might have let a nickname or even a maiden name on a ticket slide. No longer. If you have the wrong name on your ticket, you're probably grounded. And there are two reasons for this: security and greed.
The Transportation Security Administration wants to be sure the same person who bought the ticket, and who was screened, is boarding the plane. But when there's an inexact match, the airline can either charge a $100 "change" fee or force you to buy a new ticket. In an industry where every dollar counts, the exact-name rule is the government's gift to cash-starved air carriers.
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That's the situation Gordon was confronted with, even when it was obvious that "Jan" and "Janet" were one and the same. There were suggestions that a new ticket might need to be purchased. "We didn't let it get to that," he recalls. Instead, he asked to speak with a supervisor who could finally fix the codes so that the ticket and passport matched up. How did all of this happen in the first place? Turns out Jan Gordon had signed up for a frequent flier account under her informal name, so when she booked an award ticket, it also used her informal -- and inaccurate -- name.
How to avoid it? Triple-check the name on your ticket. Make sure your computer doesn't autofill another name and that the name on your passport or driver's license matches up with your ticket.
Booking a ticket on the wrong airline
Believe it or not, people board the wrong flight every day. I'm not even talking about codeshare flights, which is industry-speak for booking a ticket on one airline but then flying on a "partner" airline with different rules and maybe lower service standards. I'm talking about simply making the wrong choice of airline.
For example, the elite-level business traveler who is accustomed to being treated like royalty when he flies on his preferred carrier might want to stay away from a budget airline. "I gave Southwest a try and I hated it," they'll write to me. "I'm never flying with them again." Of course not. If you don't like flight attendants with a sense of humor, peanut snacks and on-time flights, you'll probably hate Southwest, too. On the flip side, I hear from travelers who book tickets on full-service network airlines and then complain about the price. Which is silly. How else do you think an airline is going to pay for all of that service?
How to avoid it? Watch for the codeshare designation when you book online and do a little research before buying an airline ticket. That way, your expectations won't be too high. Or too low. Also, consider using an experienced travel agent.
The city switcheroo
Selecting the wrong city pairs -- going from point 'B' to point 'A' instead of from 'A' to 'B' -- is another common error. Jennifer Hyde bought four tickets on Delta Air Lines through Orbitz. But instead of booking them from Boston to Baltimore she inadvertently switched cities, rendering the tickets completely useless. "Needless to say, neither Orbitz nor Delta is doing anything to help," she says. Hyde, a homemaker from Newton, Massachusetts, would have to pay a change fee for each ticket, plus any fare differential, to make things right. Not good.
How could someone switch cities? It's easy. To an inexperienced Web user -- and OK, let's be completely honest here, even to some experienced users -- those pull-down menus on travel sites can be utterly confusing. When you're typing in airport city codes like BWI and BOS, it's easy to forget which airport goes where. (But it could be worse -- Hyde might have ended up with a ticket to the familiar-looking BAL city code, which would have taken her to Batman, Turkey.) Point is, if you're not paying attention, or if you're dyslexic, you could click "accept" all the way through the reservation process and you wouldn't know you messed up until it was too late.
How to avoid it? Pay attention! If you're easily distracted maybe you should be working with a qualified travel agent instead of booking yourself. And read your confirmation immediately. If you spot a mistake, your agent might be able to undo it at no charge.
Buying a ticket that's too restrictive
Booking the wrong kind of ticket is yet another common error. Airline sites often assume you want to purchase the cheapest and most restrictive fare, so that's the first quote you're usually offered. The pricier, fully refundable tickets are buried deeper in the site, which is too bad. For air travelers whose plans might change, these are the best selections.
Why should you pay more for a ticket? Because if your plans change and you're holding a nonrefundable ticket, it will be practically worthless. Every day I field a question from an air traveler who would have benefited from this advice. They ask the airline to make exceptions to its refundability rules. They make up excuses. They throw tantrums. It almost never works.
How to avoid it? If you can't buy the right ticket, at least buy the right insurance policy. It might protect you if you change plans.
Wrong date
Like the wrong city switcheroo, the wrong date problem is an epidemic among air travelers. Part of the reason is simple absentmindedness: choosing the sixth month instead of the seventh month and then not reading the subsequent screens.
But part of the reason is that airline Web sites are anything but user-friendly. Reader Nancy Smythe wrote to me recently about her flight from West Palm Beach, Florida, to London, which she booked directly online through the airline. It turns out the carrier had sold her a ticket it couldn't deliver -- her connection times were too short. So it agreed to rebook her on a later flight. But when it sent her the new ticket, it had the wrong date on it. When she pointed out the mistake, she was asked to pay a change fee. "This wasn't my error," she says. So why should she pay for it? Smythe's experience reveals the maddening secret of ticketing mistakes. The airline will try to make you pay for an error -- even if it's not yours.
How to avoid it? Wake up and read the screen! No, seriously. This can usually be avoided by just reviewing your itinerary before you click the "book" button.
So look out for wrong names, wrong airlines, wrong cities, wrong dates and wrong expectations. Easy for me to say, right?
Wrong.
I've made every mistake in the book -- and then some -- when it comes to travel. All of the above errors are on my record. And let me also add that my mistakes aren't limited to travel. I have some big-time screw-ups to my name that extend into my professional and personal life. Hey, don't we all?
But as I look at the subject of mistakes in general, and ticketing mistakes in particular, I'm not worried about the ones we make once and learn from and are unlikely to repeat.
It's the ones that we make over and over for no other reason than that we're just easily manipulated -- those are the screw-ups that infuriate me.
How to safeguard your money as you travel - CNN.com
How to safeguard your money as you travel - CNN.comNEW YORK (AP) -- The last thing any traveler wants is to lose a wallet, whether it's misplaced or taken by a pickpocket, in the middle of a vacation.
Many thieves target backpacks and purses, so look for alternate places to keep money, experts say.
As the summer travel season approaches, it's a good time to review the financial rules of the road. Consumers who take a few precautions before they leave home can help ensure that their cash and credit cards are safe and secure, whether their trips take them to a nearby state or overseas.
"We don't want to be alarmist, because people can run into problems in their own neighborhoods, too," said Nancy Dunnan, publisher of travelsmartnewsletter.com in New York. "But losses can be much harder to deal with if you're away from home and you don't know the local procedures or, sometimes, the local language."
Dunnan said the first thing people need to do is limit what they carry with them. In most cases, she recommends no more than two credit cards -- one for regular use and the other for backup -- or one credit card and one debit card for cash withdrawals.
"It helps to notify the card issuers you'll be traveling, so they don't put a hold on the card when they start seeing charges from an unfamiliar place," Dunnan said. "And you should double check your limits so you don't go over the top."
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Dunnan also recommends families carry traveler's checks. Although the availability of automated teller machines, or ATMs, has made traveler's checks less essential, they remain a good source of cash if credit or debit cards are lost or stolen.
"The amount (of traveler's checks) you need depends on the length of the trip," she said. "But it doesn't hurt to have anywhere from $250 to $500 to get you through a difficult time."
For those traveling abroad, it can be a good idea to buy in advance the equivalent of $100 in the currency of the country you're visiting. That way, you can cover taxi fares, porters' tips and other expenses you may incur before you have time to change money.
How you carry money and credit cards around affects your security, said Sarah Schlichter, editor of the independenttraveler.com Web site, based in Pennington, New Jersey.
Schlichter, an ardent traveler abroad, keeps her credit cards and dollars "in a money belt under my clothes." Then, she said, she puts the equivalent of $100 in local currency in a cheap, plastic wallet that she keeps in her pocket.
"That way, when I'm pulling out my wallet, I'm only exposing a limited amount of local currency," which presumably is less attractive to a thief than a large amount of dollars, she said.
Schlichter also said people need to stay aware of their surroundings, both at home and abroad.
"You have to use common sense," she said. "There are thieves and pickpockets in New York City -- just the way there are in Rome."
That means choosing ATMs inside banks or in hotel lobbies and "not in a dark, creepy alley," she said.
Schlichter suggests couples or friends traveling together split their cards and cash so that if one is robbed or loses something, the other has backup resources.
For those who don't have access to a hotel safe, it's a good idea to keep your money, main credit card, passport and airline tickets on your person at all times. Your backup card should be kept somewhere else that's safe. This is especially true for those sleeping in hostels or traveling on crowded trains or ferries, she said.
"The last place you want to carry everything is in a purse or backpack," she cautioned, saying they were the target of many thieves. "If you find yourself in a crowded place, keep your bag in front of you with your arms over it."
The U.S. State Department, which has travel safety tips on its site at http://travel.state.gov, suggests travelers leave behind "anything you would hate to lose," including valuable jewelry, irreplaceable family objects, your Social Security card, library card and other membership cards you're unlikely to need.
If you're headed overseas and are carrying a passport for identification, you might consider leaving your driver's license behind if you're not going to be driving yourself, and you likely won't need credit cards from hometown retail stores either.
Both Schlichter and Dunnan urge travelers to make a list of everything in their wallet and photocopies of other important travel documents, such as plane tickets and passport and traveler's checks. Don't list full credit and debit card numbers, but the phone numbers to contact if the cards are lost or stolen.
Carry one copy in a safe place, away from the cards and documents themselves, and leave another back home with a friend, relative or colleague in case of emergencies, they said.
Woman's dead body lies in flat for 35 years - CNN.com
Woman's dead body lies in flat for 35 years - CNN.comZAGREB, Croatia (AP) -- Governments have changed. War erupted and ended. Neighbors had children, and then grandchildren. But Hedviga Golik never left her tiny apartment in Croatia's capital -- until her mummified body was carried out this week, 35 years after she died.
Police said Friday that no one ever reported Golik missing and no one has come to claim her body.
Residents of her loft building in downtown Zagreb had broken into Golik's flat after deciding that the apartment should belong to them, and not to her. Startled by the remains in bed, they called police.
Forensics experts said Golik likely died in 1973, about the time a neighbor last saw her. Expert Davor Strinovic said she seemed to have died of natural causes, but "it's almost impossible to say for certain" after so much time.
Some of Golik's neighbors claimed she had talked about going abroad.
Experts said her windows had been open, likely diminishing the smell. It remained unclear who -- if anyone -- was paying her bills and who exactly owned the apartment. In the 1970s, when Golik died, apartments were state-owned.
Neighbors now argue the apartment should be divided among the remaining tenants.
The discovery of Golik's body on Tuesday prompted media debates on how it is possible for a woman to die so long ago without anyone noticing. One local journalist said it showed people were becoming more alienated.
"My dear neighbors! Please keep on being curious and a bit tiresome, as you have been so far," Merita Arslani wrote in the Jutarnji list daily.
Don't do this in your car - CNN.com
AOL Autos) -- It's a familiar scenario. You're on your way to work, maybe running 10 minutes late, and you're trying to make up for lost time.Don't do this in your car - CNN.comSo you put your foot into it a little bit more and also decide to multi-task, perhaps get a head start on email on your BlackBerry.
Before you know it, you've got one hand frantically tapping away on the small keypad, the other on the wheel, and your eyes are working overtime to keep track of it all. Your foot, however, is doing just fine laying heavily on the accelerator. Doesn't sound too safe, does it?
Almost all of us make them, so here's a list of some of the most common and dangerous mistakes witnessed on the road:
Pushing buttons
Car companies and their suppliers jump through lawyers' hoops when developing central information consoles that can include satellite navigation, stereo controls and climate gauges. And with good reason.
Tweaking these devices while driving is a leading cause of accidents and near misses, according to Drive for Life, the National Safe Driving Test and Initiative. Most new consoles won't allow you to plug directions into a sat-nav while the car is in gear, but almost all allow you to play with the stereo. Try to do this when stationary, at traffic lights if you must.
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Aggressive driving
Aggressive driving is a factor in about 56 percent of fatal crashes, says the latest study on driving habits from the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership.
Though subject to debate, the study has classified aggressive driving as "speeding, tailgating, failing to yield, weaving in and out of traffic, passing on the right, making improper and unsafe lane changes and running stop signs and red lights." The group says that most drivers admit to making the same mistakes they hate to see other drivers commit.
Mobile devices
As a group, teenagers are more likely than most to take their eyes off the road to concentrate on mobile devices, including cell phones, iPods and instant messaging gadgets.
They are also the age group most likely to impress their friends both with the latest in gadgetry and by taking risks behind the wheel. The National Safety Council points out that traffic crashes are the leading cause of fatalities in teens, accounting for 44 percent of deaths.
Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Washington, D.C. have banned the use of hand-held cell phones while driving. California is scheduled to ban their use by July 2008. Another side effect of the ever-changing technology? Shorter attention spans, which isn't the ideal trait of conscientious drivers.
Driving while upset
"Well the morning was complete. There was tears on the steering wheel dripping on the seat," lamented cheeky British pop mites The Arctic Monkeys on their new tune 'Do Me a Favor'.
All very well if you, like I did, took an Audi A4 S-line Convertible to see them at this year's Coachella Festival, but what happens if you've had a great, sober festival, but end up in a fight with the wife while driving home (which didn't happen, obviously, as she adored the sporty drop-top)?
Other situations that inevitably distract from good driving habits are fighting over maps and directions or looking for a free parking space. Try to pull over if you feel your concentration is not fully on the road and take a walk to cool off.
As a married man who's terrible at reading maps and spotting parking spaces, all I can say is, "But I told you so."
Turn signals
Here's a harsh lesson learned. When my brother and I rolled up at my sister's wedding in her hubby's Jaguar XKR convertible, we expected a bit of respect and not, well, giggles. My brother was driving and we traveled about 20 miles in convoy alongside many of the other guests.
We had enjoyed the admiring looks and stares from others on the way, figuring it was the fire-red convertible and the two good-looking lads up front.
Only during the groom's speech later did we find out that we'd driven his car the whole way with the left turn signal bleeping, to much mirth all round and conversation about stupid drivers and their habits.
Turn signal errors in my experience are more common in trucks, SUVs and convertibles, when wind and cabin noise can crowd out the click of the signal, leaving the driver oblivious to their error.
Pushing the wrong pedal
In November in California last year, Huntington Beach police officer Brian Knorr was honored for his actions after he rescued an 83-year-old Orange County woman whose car was partially submerged in a water channel.
Uninjured, the driver told a local newspaper she thought she had pressed the brake pedal of her 1999 Chrysler Concord only to find her car accelerating off the road into the water.
She also said Chrysler had not been too responsive in her efforts to find the root of the problem, which she blamed on mechanical failure.
Tragically, this is an all-too-familiar story. In Santa Monica, California, in 2003, an 86-year-old man drove his car through a crowded farmer's market, killing 10. Elderly drivers rank as one of the safest groups, often sustaining unblemished driving records over long periods.
But self-awareness combined with oversight by family members is key to upholding driver safety. Many more elderly drivers report trouble checking blind spots and looking over their shoulders due to physical restraints.
Speeding and tailgating
For Lisa Lewis, executive Director at The Partnership for Safe Driving, it's simple: We drive too fast. "Based on what's going on today, the biggest thing we can tell people [is] to slow down," she tells AOL Autos.
"Governments all over the country raised the speed limits from 55 mph and people are still continuing to drive even faster than these very high speed limits. It's not just the 20-year-old hot rodder, it's mothers, grandmothers."
Lewis says people are also driving too close together, where you see "the NASCAR effect" of bunching. All it takes, she says, is one unexpected move and "you get a pile-up." In fast-moving traffic, Lewis recommends a safe distance of one car length for every 10 mph.
Buckle up
Fatal crashes fell slightly from 43,443 in 2005 to 43,300 in 2006, or just under five every hour nationally. More than half of the fatally injured were unbuckled.
"Bad things happen when people don't buckle up, and no one is immune from the damage and devastation that comes from not wearing a seat belt," Department of Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said on the release of the Department's most recent report last month.
