Re-learning the rules of the road

Jen Kocher
NLJ Correspondent
 
The students leaned over their handbooks as instructor Jane Capps helped them fill out registration cards and explained the layout for the day. Water, snacks and coffee had been provided by Weston County Senior Services, she explained to the nearly dozen students in the AARP-sponsored senior driver’s safety class Oct. 23. The students ranged in age from 65 to upwards of 90. 
Most of the class, if not all, were there mainly to get a discount in their insurance. But other students, such as 67-year-old Ann McColley, were there for the dual benefit of retooling their own knowledge. Having worked for Shell Pipeline for 44 years, now Bridger Pipeline, McColley had taken defensive driving classes every five years. The office employees were held to the same driving standards as the field men, and she’d always found it useful, and continues to today, even though it’s no longer a work requirement. 
“There’s always something to relearn,” McColley said.
Next to her sat Mike Ratigan, who was there because his wife told him he had to attend. It’s for the insurance reduction, he insisted, with a smile, and not because of his driving.
For the most part, these drivers had more than 50 years of experience, and Capps was respectful of this roomful of accumulative knowledge. For many seniors, losing the privilege to drive is the last bastion of freedom and one of the hardest things to do — to surrender their keys. 
AARP recommends that seniors take the class every three years, and Capps explained that they’ll need to do it again in 2021.
The world is changing, she said, as she booted up a 1970’s circa film of a crowded New Jersey turnpike with figure-eights of lanes pouring on and off the main corridor as the drivers inched toward a four-lane toll booth.  
 “I remember driving there in ’57,” whispered a tall, white-haired man to his wife. “Remember that?”
She shook her head and looked up at the teacher.
“The fatal crash rate begins to increase noticeably at age 70,” Capps told the class. “Drivers 85 and older have the highest risk rate per mile driven. As you get older, your bones are more brittle, and your chances of dying in a crash are higher the older you get.”
 Along with retooling their skills regarding the rules of the road, Capps also warned them, they would need to be aware that medications, including herbal remedies and over-the-counters, can affect driving. One drink is enough to falsely boost a person’s confidence and all the high-tech gadgetries of new cars can throw most anyone – including herself – for a loop, Capps said.
 The leading cause of death in Wyoming are one-crash rollovers, she continued. The leading cause of crashes are failure to yield the right of way.
She asked if anyone in class had trouble driving. An audible murmur erupted from the group as a few volunteered answers. Vision and night vision were among the most popular complaints, followed by busy traffic in cities like Rapid City or being oppressively tailgated.  
As older drivers, they need to take an honest assessment of their abilities, Capps explained, and potentially make some hard decisions, which she acknowledges is not an easy thing to do, particularly in Newcastle and Weston County, where apart from a senior taxi, there’s no other resources except for family and friends.
“Things are changing,” she said, cautioning the class that it’s important to look ahead to what might be next. They’re to watch for deficiencies in their skills and the skills of others. Watch for such things as wandering in a lane, driving slowly or too quickly. Not being able to see or hear. 
The class silently bent over their books to take a written assessment and tabulate the results. Scores of 0-5 are of no concern, but 6-16 points means they should do assessments regularly. Drivers with 17-26 points should consider taking a formal assessment, which to Capps’ knowledge you can’t do locally, and at 27 and above, they should look for other means of travel.
The class continued for another few hours as teacher and students went over rules for drivers and rules for pedestrians and learned that roundabouts are considerably safer than four-way stops, but bikers and pedestrians may pose significant danger. It was a lot of information to absorb in one session, but the class concluded just over an hour ahead of schedule after everyone successfully passed the final assessment.
They are cleared for another three years. 
Margaret and Homer Dejmek took their time loading up their booklets and thanking Capps for an informative session. At ages 87 and 88, respectively, the Dejmeks have been through this course several times. Their last class was four years ago, and on top of brushing up on a few new rules, Homer was hoping the certificate will help bring down his insurance premium, which has ramped up nearly 70 percent over the past three years, in 22-24 percent increments.
As a veteran, Homer receives his insurance from USAA and gets a bit testy when one of the top brass sends him letters thanking him for his service.
“Where’s the discount?” he wondered. He hasn’t had an accident in more than 60 years and has never put in a claim, and yet his rates continue to ratchet up.
“I know I’m not a kid,” he said. “I’m not 28; I’m 88. But, still, I’ve been with them since the late ’50s and never put in a claim.”
At this rate, he said, he’s not sure how long they can afford to drive, which truthfully, they do very little of except around Newcastle for groceries and church. Occasionally, they’ll drive over to Rapid for Homer’s doctor’s appointment, at which point Margaret drives.
“She drives and I pray,” he said, as Margaret batted him on the arm. 
Along with the certificate that will hopefully bring Homer a slight reprieve in his premium, the couple thought the course was a good use of their time. Homer, for one, learned that when driving on a four-way freeway, you no longer have to slow down to 20 miles an hour when you see a police cruiser pulled over on the side. 
“I had no idea you could get into the left lane and not have to slow down,” he said, wonderment in his voice. 
Margaret equally walked away with a few new rules that she hadn’t known.
This new information will make her think more when she drives, she admitted, and in four more years they’ll hopefully be back to retool and do it all again.
“When you get to be our age,” she said, “you learn adopt to the changes and go on.