The Minnesota Gerontological Society (MGS) and Twin Cities Public Television (tpt) have co-produced a one-hour documentary that can be viewed streaming online below. It will also periodically air on Minnesota tpt channels between November 2009 and November of 2010. (See www.tpt.org for show times).
Love of Car Streaming Video
You may use this video for your own information or show it to others for educational purposes. You can find additional resources and links related to the show following the video below.
Note: To view this video, make sure that the sliding cursor at the bottom of the screen is all the way to the left, so the show starts at the beginning. You can also skip sections of the show with that slider. To view full screen mode you may click on the image or the icon on the bottom right.
Have you ever wondered about how long you will be able to drive and what strategies you can use to lengthen your driving years? Are you experiencing age-related changes in your vision, reaction time or other capabilities leading you to wonder whether you should still be driving? Are you worried about facing that decision because of the way it may impact your participation in the community? To address those concerns, the Minnesota Gerontological Society (MGS) has co-produced with Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) a one-hour documentary aimed at raising awareness and stimulating dialogue in the State about older driver and community mobility issues. The documentary includes interviews of seniors who live in rural as well as urban areas and are either contemplating driving cessation, or have already gone through that transition. It weaves those stories with interviews of experts and demonstrations of solutions. The focus of the documentary is on the following four issues:
How to determine if you're a safe driver
Personal strategies to increase your safe driving years
Ways to adapt vehicles to allow safe driving longer
Who should be involved in deciding when a person should stop driving
How to locate and promote alternate transportation options
This documentary is aimed at stimulating dialogue about solutions to community mobility issues for older adults. It features interviews of seniors living in rural as well as urban areas who are in the process of driving cessation, or have already gone through that transition. It weaves those stories with interviews of experts and demonstrations of solutions..
Sponsoring Partners
Sponsoring partners for the production of this documentary include: Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), Department of Public Safety (DPS), Senior LinkAge Line 1-800-333-2433, AAA (American Automobile Association, and the Minnesota Partnership for Safe Mobility (MPSM). See full list of partners.
RESOURCES FOR DRIVERS, FAMILIES AND ORGANIZATIONS
1. General Statistics and Resources
By 2030 one in five Americans (20%) will be over age 65. This is about double the rate of Americans over 65 in 1980 (11%). Seniors over the age of 65 also constitute the fastest growing segment of the driving population. By 2020, about 22 million people over age 75 will be eligible for a driver’s license and 7 million of these individuals will be over age 85. Although mature drivers are generally more experienced and cautious drivers, some normal age-related changes, as well as increased frailty put us at greater risk for accidents and injury with advancing age. You can find more statistics on older drivers safety risks in the attached document.
2. Personal Strategies for Driving Safety
There are a several personal strategies that we can use to extend safe driving years. A) Prevention: People who are generally fit are safer drivers. Getting key skills such as vision periodically checked is also an important preventive measure. B) Practice driving-related skills. We can train certain skills such as our visual attention and reaction time to reduce our risk for accidents. For example, DriveSharp is a computer program designed to improve those visual attention skills. C) Awareness: It is important to be aware of age-related changes and medical conditions that could affect driving, discuss those with our physician and modify driving patterns accordingly. See also this attached document.
3. Cars and Environments for Safer Mobility (coming soon)
Adapting your car (CarFit, driving safety DVD)
Choosing safer cars (AAA recommendations)
Roads and signs for an aging society (Intersections, rotaries)
Complete streets and livable communities (AARP info)
