Buffalo, NY (WKBW) -- When elderly drivers and their loved ones see or hear news stories about a senior driver getting into an accident, it causes more seniors and their relatives to call programs like AAA Driver Improvement to assess how they're driving.
While the American Automobile Association says teens get in more accidents than the elderly, there is a higher rate of death in colissions involving seniors.
The AAA offers a driver assessment program that costs $70 for members and $80 for non-members. During the assessment, an instructor meets with you in your home, asking questions about any problems or concerns. The instructor then asks you to drive him or her to places that you'd normally go, like the grocery store.
Kerry Donnelly says the goal is to keep seniors driving. More than 80% of the people who take the assessment continue driving, sometimes with tips such as taking backroads instead of busy streets, or sending the driver to its partner, ECMC, to recommend physical therapy to strengthen their arms, or gadgets that make turning the steering wheel and adjusting the speed of the car easier.
If drivers are not comfortable undergoing the assessment, they can purchase a Roadwise Review CD-ROM to use on a computer, which helps assess the driver in a more private setting.
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