You CAN get a ticket for going too slow.

mikki, so what if they drive 10 under the speed limit thats not illegal, i drive 4-6 hrs every day for my job , and have had my fair share of vehicles pull out in front of me. and this might surprise you but very rarely is it and older person, most of the time it a young mom with kids in the car in a hurry i suppose to get somewhere. if they have a valid drivers license no matter what their age they have the right to drive. if you search the accidents in this newpaper you will find very few involve older drivers. so maybe everyone should take a lesson from them and drive 10 miles under the speed limit.

Oldtimer, what did she say that was so offensive to you? that is exactly the response we are talking about!! Not all 80 year olds are bad drivers, and that is not what she, I, or anyone else said in this blog said. It is just a fact of life that as we age our responses slow, and our eyesight gets worse. It is the hardest thing to do, to have to confront your parents and take their independence away, but sometimes it needs to be done. Wisconsin needs to test ALL drivers more often then every 7 years, and elderly people need to be tested yearly, sorry you don't like to hear that, but driving is a privilege, not a God given right, and if you are unsafe and become a danger to yourself or others on the road then it is time to swallow your pride and turn in your keys and license.

Spikesmom: "So what if there are kids in the car. They're young. They heal quickly!"

Oh, THAT'S nice.

Yeah, the older folks are more careful? Is THAT why they drive 10 under the speed limit, pull out in front of you, can't stay between the lines, and buy cars so big they can hardly see over the steering wheel?

Speaking of texting while driving, I saw a news report this week that stated more than 50 percent of teens admitted to texting while driving and that studies showed the action was as dangerous as driving drunk. Of course, these were statistics from England, but I would bet they are comparable or worse here in the United States.

janesvillemom. Iam over 80 and will challenge you to a driving test?? apprently you are so perfect behind the wheel. so how about it??

I see way too many people texting while driving as well. I don't know what they can do to stop it either, short of forcing the phone Companies to remove that feature all together, and we all know that is not going to happen! I have kids tell me on my school bus all the time about how they were doing 80 and texting and were driving just fine. They see nothing wrong with it. This scares me just as bad as 94 year old drivers. I really believe WI. does a real disservice to it's citizens by only requiring driving license renewals every 7 years! a lot can happen health wise in 7 years!

For those of you with elderly parents who may be struggling with whether or not they should still be driving, you can talk to their doctor and the doctor can contact the DMV and then your loved one will have to take a driving test. Your loved one doesn't have to know that you made the contact and it takes some of the "blame" off of you.

I was on the Interstate last week and within 15 minutes, 3 drivers past me while they were texting on cell phones. And believe me they were driving all over the road and they sure weren't close to being 95 years old. Scared the day lights out of me. I will never understand how people think they can drive safely and text on cell phones at the same time... UNREAL......

It's not fair to this driver or to his loved ones to make unfounded accusations. The family is probably having a difficult time as it is. My condolences to them on their loss.

8am, sun coming up, he could have been blinded by it, happens to people any age, don't judge the man, i have seen people his age more active and alert then a lot of younger people, sorry for his family, i share their grief...

Yes, this was an "accident", however, most highway wrecks are NOT....most of them are CAUSED directly by the actions of one or more driver(s), some drunk some not..

Highly likely he should not have been driving at 94, period. Reaction time and thought processes at that age are probably akin to those of a tortoise, however "spry" he might have seemed to be.

While it's hard to do -- no one wants to relinquish their freedom, of which driving remains a big part -- this is the responsibility of relatives (if any) to monitor at this age. A timely driver's condition report sent to the WI DOT might have triggered an exam that could have helped avoid this situation.

Good that he didn't pull out in front of a motorcycle (as so often happens -- eyesight & concentration are probably no better than the other driving-related skills) and kill someone. And what the heck, at least he wasn't eaten by coyotes, or wolverines (though that would have made a much more enticing headline!).

Rest in peace friend, your journey here is done.

These events are called "Accidents" not "on purposes". I doubt this was pre-planned.

Hey Crunch, he was driving a car, not flying a plane!!

Good question jvldss but he may have been a better driver than many younger people I see driving every day . I`m not just talking very young. I mean all ages. Every other driver I see is on a cell phone not paying attention to there driving. Not to mention how many drivers I see every day running stop signs and red lights. So maybe he was to old or maybe not it`s very sad.

That's a nasty intersection, lots of too fast traffic from both directions, a hill or a rise to his left, the direction he got hit from, with Creek Road crossing 14 at an odd angle.

That's too bad, a man lives for 94 years, survives all of the nasty things that can get you and then gets it at a nasty intersection.

etown- this is Janesville. It's what everybody does. People can say all they want that the elderly shouldn't be on the road and there should be mandatory testing, blah, blah, blah. I have more problems on the road with soccer moms talking on their phones with 5 kids in the van. They change lanes at will, can't bother to use a turn signal, make right hand turns in front of everybody because they think they don't need to yield and practically hook bumpers with me. So what if there are kids in the car. They're young. They heal quickly!

does everyone always have to turn these story into what should be done? how do you know his driving wasnt perfect , almost every week someone causes a crash by pulling out in front of another vehicle, let it be what it is an accident. whatever happened to respecting somone that has passed on.

My condolences to his family.

The elderly drivers I've known have been far safer on the road, more careful to obey the laws, and far more aware of their limitations than most in their teens and twenties are. Criticizing this man without any evidence seems rather crass and unfeeling.

Okay I agree that the elderly need to be tested every year or so. But a driving exam and a vision test aren't gonna do it. If they have been diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer's then they should NOT have their license. I have worked with the elderly for a long time and honestly there are some 94 year old people who are in better shape than me at 23. They still get around like their 20. But this is not all of them.

And honestly this accident could have happened to anyone. 16, 15, 30, 40 don't matter. Failure to yield is failure to yield.

Well, we took the keys away from my dad due to dementia and he still found a way to get the car out on the road in the middle of the night and wreck it. (Nobody hurt but a road sign, fortunately.)

I was lucky, my mom moved in with me and gave me her keys before it became an issue. States have tried to enact laws making it mandatory for elderly people to have to take tests more often or to restrict their driving altogether but then they have the AARP and all the other special groups aimed at protecting the elderly screaming foul and threatening legal action. Politicians are afraid of the backlash that putting those laws into effect will cause and are afraid it will cost them their office if they offend the elderly. It's a shame that they are dying on our roads and that they are causing others to die because they don't want to give up their independence. I get nervous every time I get near a Buick!!! People, remember driving is a privilege, not a right! We need to require the elderly to take tests more often then the rest of us! It is just a fact of life that we slow down and react slower when we age. And our eyesight begins to decline.

It is SO hard for family members to do this. It was a horrible battle to get my grandfather to stop driving and he was so mad at my dad for it. There needs to be a law that they have to re-test every year after a certain age, maybe 80? That puts the responsibility on the driver's examiner who will not get the horrible guilt and verbal abuse that family members get. There also needs to be something in addition to the vision test. My grandfather passed the vision test and got his license renewed, but couldn't find his own house!

And thankfully, Mr. Hertel wasn't seriously injured, either.

And this is why I'll have my future children take my license away from me when they become scared for my life. My condolences to his family but why are there not laws requiring mandatory driving tests after a certain age??? He obviously failed to yield when crossing Highway 14 and did not realize he was pulling in front of another vehicle. This could have been avoided!

Shame, live to 94 then die in a car accident...

A terrible accident no doubt, but should a 94 year old person still be driving?