Where do they all come from?

Massachusetts residents reading this are no doubt aware that no one under the age of 70 has committed vehicular homicide in the Commonwealth in 2009; or so one would think if one's judgment were entirely formed by broadcast journalism. Nevertheless, there have been an unfortunate number of such acts involving older drivers in recent months.

On Monday, I think I found the training ground.

One of our larger and justly celebrated suburban hospitals hosts meetings of a certain professional organisation (to which I belong) from time to time. This requires one to park in the hospital garage and pay up just like ordinary visitors. Some of the recent meetings have been at midday, which is a good deal for this hospital and nearby facilities: everyone gets to attend on their lunch hour, get their CEUs, and not have to stay late.

The first time the local group did the midday meeting, parking was no big deal, but this past Monday the facility must have been running a Medicare Buy one, Get one on procedures. The garage was packed to the upper level; the median age of the drivers was well above my own. The mixture of anxiety coming with hospital visits, reduced lighting, resultant reduced vision (my own included) and 300 drivers with Massachusetts licences haring off in all directions was enough to freeze the blood. It was like Senior Citizens Day at the demolition derby track, and there I was with a participants' ticket.

Let's make it a once-monthly event, and clear the garage of everyone except the people who truly want to act out their geriatric road rage. It would keep serious casualties to a minimum (it's hard to work up to full throttle in that place) and of course, there's a hospital right at hand. We could even send in some legislators and broadcast journalists, provided they too take part in the scrum.