Older motorists are bound to experience physical and cognitive changes that affect driving skills, and they should learn how to make adjustments, according to affiliates of the AARP's Driver Safety Program. Designed to help senior motorists comfortably shift gears, the two-day, eight-hour program provides refresher instruction in defensive driving techniques. In addition, participants may also receive reduced insurance rates. Several courses will be held in the region during the coming weeks.
"Your eyes, your hearing, your body all begin to go as you age," Wilson Bell, state coordinator for the program, said. "For example, at around age 50, the eyes absorb less than 50 percent of the light they did when you were 20. "The program is designed to help you compensate. It teaches you to give yourself time, give yourself space, and don't drive aggressively."
The program, initiated by the Washington, D.C.-based AARP in 1979 as "55 Alive," is offered throughout the country. "Last year we did over 700 courses in the state and put through 15,000 people," Bell said, adding there are more than 200 Driver Safety Program volunteer instructors in Connecticut.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 342 people were killed in Connecticut in 2000 as a result of motor vehicle accidents. Of those, 99 — or about 29 percent — were 55 or older.
That is more than the number of drivers under age 25 killed in 2000. That group numbered 82 persons, or about 24 percent of the year's total.
The AARP course focuses on topics such as vision, hearing and physiology changes in the older driver, slowed response times, minimizing crash risk, highway driving, cell phone use and many more issues in a workbook-centered presentation.
Upcoming classes include a two-day session for motorists 50 and older from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. today and Thursday at Derby Library. The cost is $10 per person, and advance registration is requested. So far, about 25 drivers have signed up, Cathy Williams, library director, said.
"It's a marvelous response," instructor Patricia Gerckens said, "but we're not getting half the people we should be getting, with the number of seniors in the area."
The course is independent of the state and is not used to monitor older drivers, Gerckens said.
"There's no testing, no reporting back to the motor vehicle department, nothing like that," she said. "It's a refresher. Things that people should be reminded about as they get older."
At the completion of both days, participants will be issued a certificate they can present to their insurance companies.
State law mandates that drivers age 62 and older who successfully complete the program must receive a minimum of 5 percent off the liability portion of their insurance, Gerckens said. Some companies may offer a greater discount and/or have a lower eligibility age, she added. Gerckens, a Derby resident, has been an instructor for two years. She also serves as assistant state coordinator.
She said that although the program covers a serious subject, her approach is jocular.
"We keep it light and casual," she said.
Upcoming classes also are scheduled for Wednesday at the Jewish Center for Community Services in Bridgeport; Thursday at the North Branch Library in Bridgeport; Friday and June 17 at the Trumbull Senior Center; June 16 and 23 at the Easton Senior Center.
For more information about the courses or other Driver Safety Program classes in the region, call 1-888-AARP-NOW (1-888-227-7669) or visit www.aarp.org/states/ct.
