So…When IS it time to stop driving?
Former Ohio State Trooper Matt Gurwell spent 20-plus years delivering bad news to family members about accidents involving older drivers. Now instead of delivering death notifications, he’s helping to preserve family relationships and saving lives with a self-assessment tool that his organization has developed titled the “Beyond Driving With Dignity” program.
Matt is the founder of Keeping Us Safe, and Beyond Driving With Dignity is the organization’s proactive approach to helping family members and older drivers make their own decisions, but the right decision, about possibly giving up driving. Not all older adults need to turn over their car keys. In fact, age often has less to do with the decision than cognitive functioning and whether the individual is active.
Matt breaks it all down and tells us how the self-assessment tool works. He explains why handicap parking spots actually increase accidents and why he dreads having the conversation with his own father about giving up the car keys. The work of Keeping Us Safe has been recognized by the NY Times, NPR, the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, NBC News and many other media outlets and organizations.
Listen to the podcast by clicking here.
Matt Gurwell is the developer of the nationally-recognized “Beyond Driving with Dignity” program. He currently lectures throughout the United States on topics related to the aging process and its adverse affects on driving skills. As developer of this life-saving program, Matt’s mission is to provide strategies and guidance to seniors that will help them to continue driving safely until the decision is made to retire from their driving career. The “Beyond Driving with Dignity” program also provides an excellent array of services and resources for both families and professionals as they deal with this very sensitive issue. Matt retired from a very distinguished and successful 24-year career as an Assistant District Commander with the Ohio State Highway Patrol. After leaving the Patrol, Matt has participated in a tremendous amount of work in the area of older driver research, best practices, current vehicle safety technologies, and adaptive equipment. Matt's creative, innovative and common sense approach, combined with his uncanny ability to bring calm and resolve to stressful situations without ever jeopardizing the dignity of others, has contributed greatly to the success of the “Beyond Driving with Dignity” program. When asked what the ultimate motivation was for starting the program, Matt explains: "There was never one particular event. It was the result of 20-plus years of holding dying people in my arms at terrible car accidents, and delivering dozens and dozens of death notifications to families. I would much rather work with families to bring a peaceful resolve to this sensitive and uncomfortable issue now, rather than have them deal with it when a State Trooper is knocking on their front door". Matt serves as Senior Care Authority’s Program Director for the “Beyond Driving with Dignity” program. Senior Care Authority (https://www.seniorcareauthority.com) is now the nation’s exclusive provider of the “Beyond Driving with Dignity” program.
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