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Senior News March, 2003 Vol. 22. No. 3
Published by the Humboldt Senior Resource Center in Eureka, California. HSRC is a non-profit community-based organization offering services for senior citizens, multi-generational families and caregivers.
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Humboldt Senior Resource Center Back issues Table of Contents
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Safe driving Good reasons to take a 55 Alive driving class by Melanie Johnson Several years ago the California Department of Motor Vehicles presented the results of a study of mature drivers to government leaders in Washington, DC. The study showed that graduates of safe driving programs had 15.7 percent fewer traffic convictions and 16 percent fewer fatal and injury causing accidents than other mature drivers. The study and its data convinced California's legislators to mandate insurance premium reductions for qualified graduates of an eight-hour safe driving course. Insurance premium reductions can range anywhere from about $10 a year to about $50 a year depending on the company and the individual's driving record and specific coverage. But money is only one benefit of taking a safe driving course. Most of us learned to drive decades ago. Cars have changed. Laws have changed. Traffic has changed. And we have changed both physically and mentally. That doesn't mean that we have to stop driving but it does mean that if we want to be better and safer drivers we have to adjust to the changes around us and in ourselves. AARP's 55-Alive Safe Driving Program helps us examine our own driving skills. We reaffirm what we already know and update when necessary. For example, we learn how to safely enter and leave a freeway; how to minimize the effects of dangerous blind spots; how to maintain a proper following distance; and how to monitor our own and others' capabilities. We also learn why intersections cause us trouble and what to do about it. We do valuable exercises to gauge our reaction time and physical flexibility. In Humboldt and Del Norte counties approximately 500 mature drivers completed AARP's 55-Alive/Safe Driving Program last year. They contribute to a safer driving experience for all of us who share the roads. Local volunteer instructors offer at least one class each month from Crescent City to Garberville. Classes are usually taught in two four-hour days or one eight-hour day. The cost is $10 per person. There are no tests except for self assessment-and at the end of the course each participant receives a certificate good for insurance premium reduction eligibility for three years and the information to help him or her become a better driver. The course is designed for drivers at least 50 years of age because that is when most normal age-related physical changes that might affect driving often begin to occur. Students and instructors have a good time in a relaxing atmosphere while sharing serious and valuable information. Banks, civic clubs, credit unions, police and public safety offices and churches have sponsored and supported our local classes. Melanie Johnson is instructor and assistant state coordinator of the AARP/Safe Driving Program. To request a schedule of Safe Driving classes in your neighborhood, contact Barbara Ogden at the McKinleyville Senior Center, 707-839-0191. For information about how to become an instructor, sponsor a class, or to learn more about the Safe Driving Program, contact Melanie at 707-677-0147 or Johnson@reninet.com. |
Senior News 