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Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Campaign Aims To Keep Elderly Drivers, And Others, Safe

I posted a thread earlier today in response to the Idaho Senate passing House Bill 160, which protects doctors from lawsuits if they recommend that a patient's driver's license be revoked due to age or health issues. It was a link to a Coeur d'Alene Press story about how you know when it's time for an elderly driver to give up driving, and who is responsible for enforcing such a move; the driver's family or the government.

A gentleman who started 'Keeping Us Safe,' a campaign to keep older drivers safe, posted information on some of the resources his movement offers. Matt Gurwell is a former Ohio State Trooper and what grabbed my attention about his campaign is why he started it. He says it was the result of 20-plus years of holding dying people in his arms at accidents scenes and delivering death notifications to families.

Among other things, Keeping Us Safe offers a self-assessment program for older drivers, a course in identifying signs of decline in the elderly and a workbook called "Beyond Driving with Dignity" that was developed to offer families a roadmap on how to address the issue of driving safety with an older adult in your family.

So if you have an older driver in your family, you may want to check out the Keeping Us Safe website.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You might also want to check out what ended his career! Something about being drunk in a public park dumpster with a gun and shooting off rounds???...Think again!

KMPO Staff said...

I haven't checked out his background because I'm not promoting the man himself. His program seems like a worthy cause and ties into many discussions we've had in the transportation industry about the huge number of aging drivers on the road. I mentioned his years in law enforcement because he says that's what led him to start this program.