As they have gotten older, Kaua’ians Toshi Hirabayashi, Yukio Nakao and Yoneko Honjiyo worry about their ability to drive safely. Yesterday, the senior citizens took what they believe was a major step toward having many more years of safe and
As they have gotten older, Kaua’ians Toshi Hirabayashi, Yukio Nakao and Yoneko
Honjiyo worry about their ability to drive safely.
Yesterday, the senior
citizens took what they believe was a major step toward having many more years
of safe and enjoyable driving.
Through the American Association of Retired
Persons’ “50 Alive and Mature” driving class at Wilcox Hospital, they and seven
other seniors went through a course designed to reminded them of driving skills
and techniques they have learned but perhaps have failed to use
regularly.
The classes provide students with new approaches and concepts
about how they drive, including ways to compensate for normal age-related
physical changes, including diminished eyesight, hearing and reaction
time.
The program is an eight-hour refresher course for motorists who are
50 years old and older, who have driving experience.
Without the classes,
elderly drivers could end up in more accidents that could change their lives,
affect their families and drive up insurance coverage, AARP officials said.
Contrary to public perception, elderly drivers don’t cause more accidents
than younger drivers, said Pete Favaloro, who has taught the class at Wilcox
Hospital for the last 12 years.
“Younger and older drivers get into the
same number of accidents, but older people drive less,” he said.
The
biggest problems facing elderly drivers are making left turns on roadways,
judging the distance between vehicles, slower reaction time to traffic and road
conditions, Favaloro said.
Nakao, 84, of Hanapepe, said he hopes the class
will help him keep his record driving perfect. Nakao says he has never gotten a
ticket in nearly 70 years of driving.
“I got into accident once, but
someone else hit me,” he said.
Honjiyo said the class opened her eyes to
the need to keep proper spacing between cars to avoid collisions.
Hirabayashi, an 85-year-old Kalaheo resident who has driven for 70 years, and
John Hoff, 61, newly elected president of the Kaua’i branch of the AARP, said
they took the class not only to brush up on safety driving habits, but also to
save money.
By taking the class, they and others could qualify for
discounted rates from insurance companies, said Molly Rowe, a coordinator with
AARP.
Favaloro advised elderly drivers to:
l Have regular medical an
vision checkups.
l Avoid driving in stressful traffic situations.
l
Limit driving to familiar areas.
l Avoid driving long distances.
l Take
medication in prescribed amounts and at specified intervals.
l Check
mirrors frequently.
l When changing lanes, check traffic by glancing over
one shoulder, rather than relying on vehicle mirrors.
l Keep air
conditioning units or heaters at low settings and remind people not to talk
loudly so that the driver can concentrate on road conditions.
l Make a
visual check of signal indicators regularly.
l Wear sunglasses in
sunlight, properly position outside mirrors so that headlights of following
cars don’t blind elderly drivers and have eyes examined.
l Adjust one’s
hearing aid, keep radio noise to a minimum, use mirrors on each side of the
vehicle and a wide rearview mirror when changing lanes.
l Make sure there
is adequate distance between vehicles.
l In a potential head-on collision,
blow the horn and flash headlights.
l Drive at safe speeds to avoid
hydroplaning on wet roads.
The classes are held every six weeks at Wilcox
Memorial Hospital.
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at
245-3681 (ext. 225( and lchang@pulitzer.net
