Older Drivers Crashing Into Buildings and Pedestrians –
There is a Solution!
A July 17, 2018, headline on the Cleveland.com website reported:
“One woman dead, Walmart employee injured after being hit by car outside Mentor store”.
Witnesses to the crash said the car appeared to be going about 25 to 30 mph when it hit two people outside the store entrance before crashing into a cement wall around 12:30 p.m. Officials said the 81-year-old victim went into full cardiac arrest and was taken to Tripoint Medical Center, where she died. A second pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
Sadly, incidents involving older drivers crashing into pedestrians and buildings occur every day across America. The Storefront Safety Council reports that 29% of vehicle-into-building crashes involve drivers under the age of 30, 30% involve drivers age 30-60, and a whopping 40% of vehicle-into-building crashes involve drivers over the age of 60.
Every day around 60 drivers crash their cars into storefronts across the USA, causing thousands of dollars of damage while injuring (or even killing) innocent people.
Matt Gurwell, founder of Keeping Us Safe and retired Ohio State Trooper explains “These crashes are completely avoidable. Our ‘Enhanced Self-Assessment Program’ for older drivers was designed to help older drivers with diminished driving skills make a smooth transition from the driver’s seat to the passenger seat, before tragedy has the opportunity to strike.”
Nancy Macke, Director of Strategic Alliances for Keeping Us Safe, adds “Keeping Us Safe’s self-assessment program for older drivers provides families with the missing link between their desire to bring this issue to a peaceful resolution, and their ability to actually do so.” Macke explains that the three-hour session takes place in the older driver’s home and the driving exercise is conducted in their own vehicle.
Keeping Us Safe is a national organization headquartered in Ohio. To learn more about this proactive, life-saving program, visit the Keeping Us Safe website at https://www.keepingussafe.org or call 877-907-8841.
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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.
One Comment
Trevor W. Frith
These are right foot pedal errors, part of the right foot braking epidemic. But let’s make sure we blame the driver, especially if they are a women or old (over 40!). Never blame the guys in charge of driver legislation and training who set the driver up to fail. They forced this driver to brake an automatic transmission vehicle with only the right foot. They did this knowing they had 0 Scientific Justification and that right foot braking is too complicated and difficult to mentally maintain with age, inefficient (poor stopping distance) and dangerous (subject to right foot pedal error) compared to the simpler and safer (But girly!) left foot braking method. See DOT HS 811 597, 812 058and 812 431 (spaces required). NHTSA refuses to use the term “right foot pedal errors” but instead calls it “pedal misapplication” and always blames the drivers for not being experts. Score to date, 150,000 dead (7 Every Day), millions injured, and billions in costs. The price male drivers, both in and out of government, are prepared to pay to maintain their systemic belief in a “Killer” braking method based on the scientific foundation of, “That’s the way it’s always been taught”! This is not about which braking method is safer but rather why they refuse to scientifically compare the two methods and continue to produce misinformation about other proposed braking methods. Was it driver error or the way we taught them to brake?
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