Road refreshers
CRANBERRY TWP — Driver education is not just for new drivers anymore. Every month, many senior drivers take refresher classes. Seniors for Safe Driving offers the classes locally.
Participants increase their awareness of how aging affects driving and how to continue driving safely.
“They realize that they have some driving concerns,” said course instructor Vince Sommariva.
There's an incentive to take the course. The state of Pennsylvania mandates that insurance companies give graduates at least a 5 percent discount on their insurance premiums for three years.
Arlene Trzeciak, 67, of Cranberry Township said the main reason she took the class was because of the insurance discount.
“I wanted to see how much I have retained over all the years I've been driving and to find out anything new that I was not aware of,” said Trzeciak, who has been driving for 50 years.
The class also introduces vehicle safety equipment.
“A lot of people have never experienced air bags,” Sommariva said. “There is a potential that there will be injuries from the air bag.”
The attendees asked questions, shared advice and related their experiences.
Linda Treese, 64, of Mars had an air bag deploy in a crash.
“The thing that shook me was the powder. I thought my car was on fire. That scared the dickens out of me,” Treese said.
Because air bags are stowed in the center of the steering wheel and can injure hands and arms, hand position on the wheel is important.
“Keep your hands away from the center of the steering wheel,” Somariva said.
He captured each participant's attention when he passed around a steering wheel to show how it looks after the air bag deploys. The 28 participants also saw and felt a used air bag.
“Mort Bags It,” a video episode of “Mort the Traffic Guy,” also added variety to the class. In the video, Mort investigates how air bags work. He also discovers that air bags are a supplemental safety device and only safety belts will protect in all crashes.“Statistics show that the majority of seniors wear seat belts,” Sommariva said.Sommariva said many people don't know they can adjust the seat belt to make it more comfortable. He suggested fitting a cushioned strap over the belt as another option.Jean Treese, 86, formerly of Cranberry Township, lives in Richland Township. She attends the course every three years so the insurance discount continues. Even so, she appreciated the review.She said, “I didn't realize different reasons to stay away from the car in front of you.”Sommariva emphasized the gap needed between moving cars.“We see it on the news all the time with multivehicle accidents,” he said. “Speed and following too close.”“You should have three to four seconds between each car,” he said. “With the weather we're having, three to four seconds is not enough. Double it.“Space plus visibility gives you time to react,” he said.On a white board, Sommariva moved magnetic cars to demonstrate.“I can picture myself close to the car in front of me,” said Trzeciak. “That was one thing that he stressed today that I had forgotten about.”The class also discussed tips to prevent road rage. For example, drivers must remember the left lane is for passing, avoid tailgating and use the turn signal.“There are things that you could be doing to make it worse,” said Carol Flinn, 54, of Cranberry Township.Sommariva said if your safety is in jeopardy, call 911 and drive to an area where there are other people.Pennsylvania does not require driver retesting, but Sommariva said taking the class can save lives.“I was hoping the class would have gone longer,” said Trzeciak. “He put a lot of humor into it.“It wasn't just dry and dull and boring,” said Flinn.“It just keeps you aware and makes you smarten yourself up a little bit,” said Linda Treese.“It's going to take some time to break myself of turning the wheel the way I do,” said Treese.Jean Treese said those who don't go are missing out.“You'll learn some things that are in the law that you don't know,” she said.“It was painless enough and four hours won't kill you to learn some things and put money in your pocket,” said Flinn, who is the primary driver for two cars. “It's a minimum of 5 percent. It possibly could be more.”Flinn picked up resource books at the class, especially those that will help her talk to older family members about their driving.“Getting that information was well worth the course,” said Flinn.“Everyone ages differently,” said Sommariva. “You have to understand what your shortfalls are and adjust your driving to those deficiencies.”“You're never too old to learn,” said Jean Treese.
