Impaired-drivers bill urged
Woman says it could have saved son, child
Nancy Ostler was pleading for legislators to consider supporting legislation rejected last session that would allow people to confidentially report impaired drivers, including those whose skill has declined because of age, to the authorities.
But members of the Legislature's Transportation Interim Committee took no action. The sponsor of the legislation, Sen. Allen Christensen, R-North Ogden, said he expects the committee's support once his bill is formally reintroduced.
"All she wanted to do was to go to school," Nancy Ostler said of Gwyndalyn, the granddaughter who was holding the hand of her father, 29-year-old Don, Nancy's son, on her way to kindergarten at Twin Peaks Elementary in Salt Lake City when an 86-year-old motorist struck them.
The driver, who was not named, was described by Nancy Ostler as a good man who would "never, never intentionally hurt anyone." Had the bill passed last session, she said, his family would have been able to report his declining skills behind the wheel to the state Driver's License Division.
"The family of this 86-year-old man did not know what to do. They knew he was not supposed to be on the road," she said. The man was already limiting his driving, Nancy Ostler told the committee, "yet he killed my children."
She said she could not bring her son and granddaughter back but asked lawmakers to support what she would like to see called "Gwyndalyn's Law" to take away not the licenses of elderly drivers but of drivers who are incompetent.
"The hardest thing I ever had to do was to lay my granddaughter next to her father in the same casket, close it, and bury it," Nancy Ostler said, her voice breaking as she displayed the photo. "Was it worth it to not give these people somewhere to report. ... It might be your children. It might be your grandchildren. These faces are real. They wanted to live. They just wanted to live."
The bill would allow a person to confidentially report impaired drivers so they can be tested by the Driver's License Division if necessary. That raised concerns among some lawmakers last session, despite a provision that would allow the prosecution of anyone who made a report to harass a driver.
Sen. Carlene Walker, R-Salt Lake, co-chairwoman of the committee, said she could now support Christensen's bill but also wanted to look at other options for dealing with older drivers who are having difficulties, including requiring additional testing.
"I think it's a Band-Aid. I think in order to really solve the problem, we have to look beyond that," Walker said. "Not necessarily at age, but at reaction time."
Christensen said impaired drivers are dangerous, including the elderly when "they refuse to recognize it's time to hang up their car keys." While most older drivers are responsible, he said, "unfortunately a few refuse to give up their independence."
E-mail: lisa@desnews.com
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