Seniors brush up on driving skills at Cranberry YMCA
Cognitive and sensory abilities decrease with age, as does one’s ability to drive a vehicle. This is why senior citizens must be especially vigilant before deciding to get behind the wheel of a car.
Helping to keep aging drivers as sharp-eyed as ever is why organizations such as Seniors for Safe Driving, a company based in Butler Township, offer mature driver improvement courses for drivers 55 and older who want to keep their driver’s licenses. One such course took place Aug. 29 at Rose E. Schneider Family YMCA in Cranberry Township.
Seniors for Safe Driving is one of 10 organizations that provides mature driver improvement courses in Pennsylvania.
According to instructor Dave Aitken, classes are designed to refresh older drivers on the basics of driving, some of which they may have forgotten over the decades. The first portion of the class last month detailed the procedures drivers should go through before starting their car, including adjusting the seat, seat belt and mirrors.
The course also updates older drivers on changes in driving laws they may not know.
“Most of these people have been driving forever,” Aitken said. “We cover the changes in the law, new items, but basically it’s a review and we add new information.”
There are two types of courses offered by Seniors For Safe Driving — a basic course for those who haven’t taken the course before and a refresher course for those who have.
There is an added benefit for seniors who take the course — those who complete the program will receive a 5% discount on their insurance for three years, at which point they have to take the course again to receive the discount. This applies to all major car insurance providers.
“You only have to take the class every three years for your insurance discounts,” Aitken said. “It’s up to the person taking the class to notify their insurance company.”
In September, Seniors for Safe Driving is offering classes at American Legion Post 778, 150 Legion Memorial Lane in Butler Township, on Thursday, Sept. 18; Passavant Retirement Community, 105 Burgess Drive in Zelienople, on Monday, Sept. 22; and St. Louis Church, 202 W. State St. in West Sunbury, on Saturday, Sept. 27.
