The one-car crash is an almost comically common aspect of Bainbridge Island culture.

Funny, that is, because nobody’s been hurt. Yet.

There have been plenty of close calls, though.

From Jan. 1, 2013 through Dec. 31, 2016 there were at least 12 incidents of a car striking a building or storefront on Bainbridge, according to reports obtained through a public records request by the Review — an average of one every three months.

Of those, only one was the end result of a collision with another car. The other 11 were classic “car vs. building” incidents, wherein the person behind the wheel drove over a divider or sidewalk, or backed into the structure, unassisted, typically while pulling into or out of a parking space or idling there with their foot on the brake but not actually having shifted into park.

There were two such incidents in 2013, four in 2014, three in 2015 and two in 2016, according to police reports.

Only one involved a driver striking their own property.

No injuries, to the driver or anyone else, were reported in any of these incidents, and that is not the only similarity between them.

Who are these people? A study of the reports from the 11 similar occurrences yields an obvious portrait of the responsible driver and a very recognizable pattern of events:

First, the drivers are more often in their retirement years. Though two of the 11 were in their 20s, and one was 53, the other eight were all at least 69-years-old. Three were in their 90s.

Second, the drivers, regardless of age, were more often women (eight, versus three men).

Third, the drivers are far more often residents of Bainbridge rather than commuters or visitors. All but two had Bainbridge Island addresses on their licenses. One claimed a Seabeck address, another, a Florida residence.

Fourth, the incidents occur more often later in the day, with only three of the 11 occurring before noon.

Finally, all but one of the incidents involved drivers attempting to park, leave a parking space or sitting in a parking space, idling, with their foot on the brake. The lone exceptional crash did also involve parking, though the driver was leaving her own garage.

There is no apparent pattern regarding the make and model of cars involved, and initial investigations by police and fire department personnel ruled out obvious mechanical glitches as possible contributing factors in all the crashes.

Bainbridge Police Chief Matthew Hamner said that although Bainbridge did seem to experience such incidents more frequently than comparable cities — “That does seem like quite a bit,” he said, considering the 2013-16 tally — it can be nearly impossible for an officer to ascertain whether a crash is the result of an aged driver’s decaying faculties or a simple momentary lack of awareness, the kind that could happen to anyone.

“We haven’t seen people repeat this type of behavior,” Hamner said. “So there’s nothing there that would cause us to believe that somebody’s having a serious issue.

“I don’t know that there’s anything legally we can do,” he added. “[There’s] not enough for us to ask the court to take their license.”

It is true that no driver was responsible for such a crash more than once in the last three years. Such incidents are, however, more common in older drivers in general, Hamner said, something Bainbridge roads have many of — a fact that island cops are well aware of.

“We have a very geriatric community,” he said. “And getting older all the time.”

Where the police have only limited interaction with a possibly at-risk driver, family and friends are often more aware of potential danger. There exists a provision in Washington’s law, the island’s top cop explained, that allows any citizen to submit a driver evaluation request if they feel someone is no longer able to operate a motor vehicle safely.

It’s worth noting that the reporting party should be prepared to stand by their concerns.

According to the Washington State Department of Licensing, “under Washington State law, information we receive about unsafe drivers isn’t confidential and will be provided to drivers or their attorneys upon written request.” (Visit www.dol.wa.gov/driverslicense/reportunsafe.html to learn more or request an evaluation.)

According to the American Automobile Association, things to look for when considering if an older driver may be no longer up to snuff behind the wheel include:

• “Does the senior driver confuse the gas and brake pedals or have difficulty working them?” At least four of the Bainbridge drivers responsible for one-car crashes admitted they did exactly that, several others said their foot “slipped.”

• “Does the senior driver seem to ignore or miss stop signs and other traffic signals?”

• “Does the senior driver get lost or disoriented easily, even in familiar places?” The 97-year-old woman who drove her 2005 Toyota Camry over the sidewalk and into the raised deck outside Teriyaki Town in 2013 told police, “I don’t remember anything.”

Visit wwww.seniordriving.aaa.com to learn more about potential warning signs.

Information as to whether or not all of the culpable drivers in the nearly dozen similar Bainbridge incidents were alone in the car at the time of the collisions was not immediately available, though AAA material states that any driver, regardless of age, is more likely to have such a lapse in attentiveness behind the wheel when they are by themselves.

On the other side of the car-into-building experience, business owners are often left dismayed and with few answers to the obvious how-did-this-happen question.

Karen Mar, owner of Meli Melo Island Vintage Boutique, which was rammed by a 75-year-old woman in a Lexus RX in December (one of two such incidents to occur in the same week near downtown Winslow), praised the police and fire department responders, and said even the driver had been very gracious throughout the rebuilding process.

“Everybody on the island is just so wonderful,” she said. “It happened so fast.

“It’s really, really strange that it happened so fast,” she added. “We have a curb, but she just drove right over it. She got really lucky that she’s OK. A lot of stuff got damaged.”

Insurance representatives, both the driver’s and her own, Mar said, were slow to respond during the holiday season. She’d finally been contacted by late January and estimated the damages, including destroyed merchandise, would total nearly $7,000.

Also, at least one employee, who had been very close to the front wall when the car came through, has complained of lingering hearing problems since the incident.

Even given the established similarities of these events, easy manner of prevention, or even prediction, on such mishaps remains elusive.

It’s true that there are a lot of drivers responsible for such incidents here, but none more than once in the past three years.

It’s true also that it does happen more often here than other comparable cities, but, although most responsible are older drivers, at least three of those at fault since 2013 are noticeable deviations from the ill-conceived image of a confused, dotty old-timer behind the wheel of a boat-like, out-of-control Caddy.

All involved agree that even though there has yet to be any truly significant harm, or even any injuries, it’s something that must be taken seriously due to the incredible potential.