Auto Club Joins with the Santa Monica Police Department to Launch 'CarFit' to Save Seniors' Lives

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--June 15, 2005--Senior citizens are getting "fit" to drive safely as part of a program being launched by the Automobile Club of Southern California called CarFit. The pilot program helps seniors find out how the effects of aging change the way they fit in their vehicle and how that can affect their driving.

The CarFit program is designed to give a quick, comprehensive check on how well a senior driver and their vehicle work together. CarFit was developed by AAA, the American Society on Aging, AARP and the American Occupational Therapy Association.

"The Auto Club believes that people should be able to keep driving as long as they want to - if they can do so safely. CarFit is an important part of keeping seniors safe," said Patrice Frazier, managing director of school and community programs for the Auto Club. "We need to move past the myth that an older driver is automatically an unsafe driver; it's not true."

Frazier noted that age affects vision, flexibility, strength, range of motion and even size and height. "Unless seniors make adjustments, those changes may make older drivers less comfortable and reduce control behind the wheel. CarFit gives older adults the tools to help them stay on the road safely," she said.

As part of the CarFit program, trained technicians take drivers through a 12-point checklist, including: Is the driver positioned correctly in the seat? Can the driver reach the pedals easily? Does the driver know how to adjust mirrors properly or have the flexibility to use mirrors?

The next step is for seniors to meet with occupational therapists who give advice on ways a driver can maintain and strengthen their driving health, including community resources on where seniors can go for further evaluation regarding exercise, nutrition and adaptive devices.

"It's critically important that mature drivers make safety a personal priority," said Santa Monica Police Chief James T. Butts Jr. "Driving today is more difficult than ever because of more traffic, larger vehicles and faster speeds."

The number of seniors in California is growing rapidly. In 1990, people over 65 years old represented 10 percent of California's population. The California Department of Finance estimates that by 2025, seniors will total 8.7 million, nearly 17 percent of the state's population.

"In 1995, 68 percent of seniors were licensed drivers. It is reasonable to expect that as the population ages, this percentage will increase," Frazier said. "If just 75 percent of seniors are licensed in 2025, that will equal 6.5 million licensed senior drivers."

Crash data for California indicate that drivers aged 55 to 70 are involved in fewer crashes per licensed driver than other age groups. After age 70 there is a slight increase in crashes, but seniors still are far below crash figures for teen drivers. After the age of 85, crash rates calculated on a per-mile traveled basis, show that seniors have higher death and injury rates than teens, due in large part to the seniors' physical frailty, not their driving habits.

California has no upper driving age limit and state law prohibits the Department of Motor Vehicles from using age alone to require a behind-the-wheel test at license-renewal time. However, motorists 70 or older must renew their license in person rather than through the mail.

The Automobile Club of Southern California, the largest AAA affiliate, has been serving members since 1900. Today, Auto Club members benefit by the organization's roadside assistance, financial products, travel agency and trip planning services, highway and transportation safety programs, insurance products and services and automotive pricing, buying and financing programs. Information about these products and services is available on the Auto Club's Web site at www.aaa-calif.com.