Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 31, 1990 TAG: 9005300333
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV6 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: FRANCES STEBBINS CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
They are the folks who hesitate before entering interstate highways, who are often blamed when involved in accidents, who may remark with gratitude or pride that they've never been in a wreck.
Some have stopped driving at night or in the rain. Some should stop but are unable to face the loss of independence a lack of wheels brings.
My husband and I were among those 30 recently as we took advantage of a senior adult discount and got an 8-hour "Coaching the Mature Driver" course.
Because it was May, a time when many groups honor retirement-age adults, the two-morning program cost only $10 for the two of us. Ordinarily this course costs $7 per individual.
We refreshed our driving skills at the headquarters of the Safety Council of Southwest Virginia in Roanoke, where better driving classes for adults of all ages are regularly scheduled each month.
Martha Edwards, director of the council, who has taken the mature driver program herself, said her volunteer and paid instructors will come to the New River Valley or other regional communities if as many as 20 adults recruited by a church or civic group are interested.
She can be called at 703-344-4676.
"We'd like for everybody driving to take this course," she said. "Our best way of spreading the word is by people telling each other about it."
This particular class differs from other programs known as defensive driving by giving more emphasis to physical and mental changes experienced by senior adults. There is somewhat less attention given, said our instructor, to the specifics of auto accidents.
There are no horror shots in the several slide presentations, nor are there any written or road tests. Students work in groups of five to list do's and don't's related to the topic of the slide under consideration.
All students got a "Driver Recall Book," a workbook the instructors followed, as well as a Virginia motorists' manual.
In the 33 years since I was awarded my permit on a warm May day in the year between the births of my first two children, a lot has changed in Virginia driving.
Interstates 81 and 64 have brought high-speed driving to our area, with hours cut from trips to such places as Richmond and Washington. But such highways have also contributed to backed-up cars on U.S. 460, speeding trucks down mountains, and the need for safety seats for children and grandchildren.
And with family members moving to large cities, many in the seniors class could relate to the challenge of six lanes of rush-hour traffic as they visited relatives.
It's hard to pinpoint what's forgotten after 33 years of driving. In those years I have learned five important lessons the hard way. Those were the times when I was involved in auto accidents. All but one, fortunately, ended with only property damage.
The most serious, involving a reckless motorcyclist and my backing into a dangerous street, required a court date and insurance payoff.
I remembered that well when my group of five gave special attention to backing and parking lots.
Shopping center lots are special hazards of the mature driver in the '90s.
Our little group, which included a retired independent trucker and a couple in their 80s, came up with some help from the slides with these pointers:
Back as little as possible.
Look, look and look again before moving out of your spot.
Avoid parking beside a van or pickup truck unless someone can guide your backing out.
Avoid spaces for the handicapped if you aren't using them yourself.
Enter a space facing out, if possible, to avoid backing.
Carefully position your car in the parking space so you won't hit or be hit by the door of a too-close vehicle. Straighten your wheels.
Watch for pedestrians; the elderly and children are often confused and tired at shopping centers and step in the wrong places.
That's just a sample of what we learned. There was more about avoiding collisions, giving yourself as much open space as possible around your car when driving, always wearing safety belts.
There are sections in the manual for city and rural roads, for multiple-lane highways and for ways the mature driver should compensate for his or her slower reaction time.
There's an added benefit. Auto insurance companies are required to drop a bit from your bill when you send them the certificate of your completion.
Mostly, "Coaching the Mature Driver" will uncloud your memory and make you far more alert. It might save your life.
by CNB