Austria’s oldest driver dies in head-on collision

Austria’s oldest driver died when he crashed into a truck on Tuesday, it emerged today (Fri).Josef Kainz, 96, steered his Toyota into a lorry near Schrems, Lower Austria, after entering a road in the wrong direction.The pensioner died instantly while the truck driver only suffered minor injuries, according to local authorities.Neighbours in Marbach said Kainz loved to drive, adding they did not know where he planned to go as top temperatures ranged around 37 degrees centigrade that day.Statistik Austria said 12 people aged 96 or older lost their lives on Austrian roads over the past 10 years, but none of them while driving a car. The state agency said all of them died in crashes as cyclists, passersby or passengers of cars and buses.There is no age limit for possessing a driving licence in Austria.The overall number of people who died in traffic accidents in Austria dropped by 6.8 per cent year on year in 2009 as 633 people lost their lives.