RetirementHomes.com - Driving for Seniors

3 Tips for Safe Elderly Driving

aadmin — Thu, 11 Dec 2014 18:50:00 +0000

Tips for Safe Elderly Driving

People’s bodies change as they get older, and it is important to take these changes into consideration when caring for family members who are getting older, especially if they are still driving. However, if you stay aware of concerns for elderly driving and use tips to keep your family members safe, they can continue to drive and stay independent.

Concerns about elderly driving

Vision changes. An individual’s eyes can get worse as they get older. This can sometimes be corrected with glasses, but sometimes the eyes can have more significant problems, such as cataracts. These vision changes impact driving because it can be more difficult to read signs or see pedestrians or other vehicles.

Reaction changes. As people get older, their reaction times may slow. This can lead to challenges when driving in traffic, and could even lead to an accident if your family member is unable to react quickly and appropriately.

There are many side effects that come with medications, and age can have an impact on how medications affect someone’s health. Unfortunately, some medications taken by your elderly family member can impair judgment or cause symptoms such as dizziness or drowsiness that can have an impact on that family member’s ability to drive safely.

Tips for safe elderly driving

If you have an elderly family member who still drives, there are some things you can do and keep in mind to help ensure that your family member is kept safe.

Keep your family member healthy. While some changes in your family member’s health and driving abilities are inevitable as he or she ages, problems that impact your family member’s driving can be exacerbated by poor health. This includes annual eye exams, maintaining medications, and making lifestyle choices that promote health. The healthier your family member is, the more likely he or she is to be able to drive safely.

Keep communication open. It can sometimes be difficult to talk to an aging family member about his or her health and mental status. However, when that family member is a licensed driver, it is necessary. Having frequent conversations with your family member about his or her health can help ensure he or she is safe when driving. This also ensures that if your family member’s health prohibits driving, you will find out before there is an accident.

Keep your family member’s safety the priority. Quite often, your elderly family member wants to continue driving to maintain independence and control in his or her life. This is a good thing. However, the priority should be protecting your family member’s health and safety, even if it means giving up some of that independence.

Getting older does not have to mean that your family member no longer drives. However, it is important to keep communication open, help your family member stay healthy, and focus on your family member’s safety above all else. In this way, your family member can stay health and independent, even as he or she gets older.

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Family and Personal Care

Moving Company Licensing Overview

aadmin — Tue, 07 Jan 2014 11:08:01 +0000

Like most careers which require a deep technical knowledge of the trade, movers need to be licensed to perform a moving job. There may not be college or graduate training that a mover goes through to become a certified licensed mover, but they need to follow certain rules and regulations to become one. It’s with these movers that you should trust your belongings, and only to these movers. Just like you would never go to a doctor who doesn’t have a medical degree, so to you should not use a mover who is not properly licensed.

These are the 3 main types of moves, each of which requires a different type of license:

1. Interstate: With this type of move your goods cross state lines (or country borders), regardless of the distance traveled, and regardless if you end up in the same state that you started in. Movers who perform Interstate moves need to have a license issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and must also have a U.S. DOT (Department of Transportation) number. You can verify a mover’s credentials on the FMCSA website: www.protectyourmove.gov.

2. Intrastate: With this type of move your goods never leave the state that the move starts in, regardless of the distance traveled. Each Intrastate mover has different requirements and licenses based on the state they move in. You can do more research on each state’s license requirements by clicking here: Local Moving Company Licenses.

3. International: With this type of move your goods are moved from one country to another, regardless of the distance traveled. International Movers have several types of licenses. The standard one is an OTI (Ocean Freight Forwarder) which is filed with the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC). There is also a NVOCC (Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier) OTI, which is similar to a standard OTI, but with an additional tariff filed with the FMC to document the services and fees the International mover are legally bound to uphold.

So when you’re ready to move, figure out what type of move you’re making (Interstate, Intrastate, or International), and make sure the mover you choose has the appropriate licenses. One easy way to research movers is by requesting free moving quotes from 123Movers.com. Here you can get moving estimates from moving companies who have already been pre-screened for the necessary licensing requirements.

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Driving for Seniors

Family and Personal Care

Road Safety Week is for Seniors, for everyone

aadmin — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:52:45 +0000

Canada Road Safety Week began on May 14 and will run through the national holiday weekend, culminating on May 20, Victoria Day.

In Ontario, Canada’s most populated province, the Ontario Provincial Police (O.P.P.) will increase their presence on the roads. The Victoria Day weekend is a spring celebration, well-known for alcohol consumption, fireworks, and opening the cottage.

The dangers of drunk driving on the highway is well documented. Dangerous driving from seniors might be due to fatigue. They need to remember to pull over to the right side of the road. But, do they fall into the aggressive, intoxicated population that leads to highway fatalities?

“Sure, if we’re talking about 55 plus seniors they could very well be out driving intoxicated,” said Sergeant Dave Woodford of the Highway Safety Division operating out of the Greater Toronto Area.

“But, by and large, seniors are good drivers,” he said.

Aggressive drivers, distracted drivers, and intoxicated drivers crisscross the age spectrum and include older adults.

The O.P.P reports 5,700 distracted driving charges up till the Victoria Day weekend. It reports 30,000 annual charges for failing to wear seat belts, even though the province’s seat belt law was enacted in January, 1976.

Road Safety Week’s message goes out to all ages. The O.P.P. has partnered with the Canadian Association of Retired People – CARP – to create the Drive Wise program to help seniors with their age-related needs.

According to the Highway Safety Division, the top driving infringements that Canadian police look for, year-round, and especially on holiday weekends, are:

1. Failure to wear seat belts
2. Impaired driving
3. Aggressive driving and speeding
4. Distracted driving

Traffic Staff Sergeant Dave Mantey is from the Northwest Region centered from Thunder Bay, ON, stretching towards the Manitoba border. The O.P.P. veteran said he has an 89-year-old father who still drives.

“Everyone needs to follow the same rules regardless of age,” and he reminded drivers to leave ample space between vehicles.

The Northwest region is remote and densely forested. In this region, Mantey and his fellow officers apply different rules than in metropolitan areas. Seniors who drive need to be aware of animals that may stray on the highway. In winter, when the snow is high, they should increase the distance between vehicles.

Mantey asked that retired seniors consider staying at home in bad weather conditions rather than going out.

“If you don’t need to go out, stay home,” he said. “Whatever it is, it can wait.”

Old and young Canadians are looking forward to the long Victoria Day Weekend, to enjoy recreation on the roads, waterways, and back trails. Cars, boats, and off-road vehicles provide leisure and an opportunity to get away from city living.

The regulations keep everyone safe and try to protect against bad decisions leading to tragic ends.

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Family and Personal Care

Politicians look to help seniors with transportation

aadmin — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 17:14:12 +0000

Today’s Baby Boomers are tomorrow’s retirees and seniors, and across North America, for issues of health spending, a major concern among governments and policy makers is providing mobility and transport to these aging citizens.

As reported by Politico.com, a recent gathering of American mayors has moved the issue of seniors to the forefront of discussions about transportation and infrastructure, and some politicians say encouraging seniors to move into denser-population urban areas, instead of suburban or rural locales, will help older people be more mobile.

“The more we can do to attract baby boomers to the heart of the city, the better off our city will be,” Greg Stanton, mayor of Phoenix, Arizona, said at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, DC.

According to the news source, one likely target of these governmental changes would be older retirees who need urgent medical attention, but do not have cars or drivers licenses, and therefore would likely be rushed to hospital in an ambulance. Such a trip would cost both the senior and the healthcare system.

Seniors who are more mobile are more likely to be social, and social seniors, Politico reports, live longer on average than their peers who have little social interaction.

Are you a retiree or senior? How do you travel around your city or area? Tell us about it in the comment section below:

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New technology could keep seniors driving longer

aadmin — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:06:16 +0000

In many states and provinces, seniors who turn 80 years old must re-apply for their drivers licenses and ensure that their driving skills have not been diminished by eyesight or related changes.

As a result, not all seniors can continue driving the way they might like to, but thanks to a new technology, that could change.

As reported in the Chicago Tribune newspaper, the ‘Granny Nav’ (as in Navigator) technology is being developed in England as part of the UK Research Council in its goal to help seniors improve their navigational skills while driving.

This means that seniors who find themselves forgetting where they’re going, or where they were coming from will be able to be on the road longer.

‘For many older people, particularly those living alone or in rural areas, driving is essential for maintaining their independence, giving them the freedom to get out and about without having to rely on others,” one of the project’s lead researchers, Phil Blythe, said in a statement.

The Tribune quoted Blythe as saying that many seniors should be able to continue driving, but because of their poor navigational skills, are not able to.

This new technology could potentially mean more seniors across North America, whether living at home or in assisted living communities, will be back on the road.

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Family and Personal Care

Give seniors free transit, experts say

aadmin — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 14:41:58 +0000

Many states and provinces require drivers licenses be renewed when drivers reach 80 years old, to ensure that they continue to drive safely. A new report, however, suggests that seniors would be better off if they didn’t drive, and instead took public transit.

As reported on WebMD.com, recent research in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health has found that when municipalities give seniors free transit passes, it tends to help seniors stay active and healthy. One study from England found that distributing free transit passes reduced the level of obesity among seniors by 25%, as well as increasing their social interaction and overall activity levels.

“Free local bus travel is a life line for many in later life,” Michelle Mitchell from Age UK told the website. “All of this helps to tackle social isolation.”

And giving away free transit passes benefits more than just the senior recipients. Mitchell said transit can make seniors active and healthier, and in turn, ease the burden on the medical system.

Free transit “reduces costs for public services, because it provides the chance for older people to stay independent and active," she told WebMD.

When seniors are healthy and active, they can remain many more years at home before moving into an assisted living community.

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Family and Personal Care

Seniors - Maximize your Mileage

aadmin — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 04:54:44 +0000

With the summer driving season upon us, prices at the pump are moving into uncharted territory. And while it's possible to save money by taking fewer trips, for most people some driving is unavoidable. Here are some driving and car maintenance tips to help you maximize your miles per gallon:

Drive smoothly and safely. Rapid acceleration and sudden braking can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and 5 percent in city driving. You are much better off driving at a constant speed. Safe speeds are fuel-efficient speeds. The average car reaches maximum efficiency at 30 MPH and maintains it through 60 MPH, at which point fuel efficiency drops off dramatically. A great way to enforce both these habits is to activate your cruise control for highway driving.

Travel light. Don't treat your car like a closet. Avoid keeping unnecessary items in your vehicle, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in the trunk could reduce your mileage by up to 2 percent and even more if you have a small car.

Be a smart driver. When you're moving at highway speeds, make sure you're using your car's overdrive gear. Being a smart driver also applies to occasions when you're not moving. Avoid unnecessary idling. When your car is running but not moving, you're logging 0 MPG.

Make sure your tires are properly inflated. Underinflated tires can lower your MPG by 0.4 percent for each pound under the recommended pressure. In addition, underinflated tires wear out more quickly and are prone to blowouts.

Keep your engine properly tuned and maintained. You can't optimize your gas mileage unless your engine is running at peak efficiency—and that means regular tune-ups and maintenance. A small problem—like a faulty oxygen sensor—can drop your gas mileage by as much as 40 percent! Replacing dirty air filters can boost mileage by 10 percent.

Watching your gas mileage offers a number of additional benefits besides saving you money. When you drive conservatively and maintain your vehicle regularly, you are reinforcing your safety behind the wheel. At the same time, driving a fuel-efficient car helps reduce our dependency on foreign oil and diminishes the amount of greenhouse gases and pollutants we pump into the air.

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Seniors Eligible for Driver's Insurance Discount

aadmin — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 11:57:11 +0000

In over half the United States, there are state laws mandating insurance discounts for citizens over a certain age. Are you eligible to receive an insurance premium discount? That depends on a lot of things, including:

Your insurance company. By far, the most important variable is the company that insures you. Every rule is set by these companies, ultimately, and they have some flexibility in how they offer their discounts.

Where you live. Not every state requires insurance companies to give discounts. But even if your state does not mandate a discount, your insurance company may offer one. Although 33 states require discounts to be offered, in many additional states insurance companies provide the discount despite not being required to do so.

Your age. The minimum age at which you can receive a discount varies depending on your state. Especially if you have recently moved or recently celebrated a birthday, be sure to check and see what the current age requirement is for senior insurance discounts.

Your driving record. Again, the rules for this can vary by company and by state. In some cases, you cannot receive the senior discount if you have had certain moving violations or have been in an accident.

How recently you've taken an approved driver safety course. Some insurance companies require you to take a refresher course every two or three years. Some go by the state rules, and some can be stricter. You may be permitted to take your course online rather than in a classroom. Some insurance companies require you to take the course only from a single provider of their choosing.

Your first step is to contact your insurance company and ask them what their senior driver insurance discount rules are for the area where you live. They can give you all the details you need in order to get a discount and cut your premiums by up to 15%. You've earned the title of "Senior," now go get the discount that comes with it!

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Driving for Seniors