SRTC contracts with the Kootenai Metropolitan Planning Organization to do the transportation planning for Kootenai County, as well as Spokane County. So I have a blog on that side of the state line as well.
On that blog, I posted a thread earlier today in response to the Idaho Senate passing House Bill 160, which protects doctors from lawsuits if they recommend that a patient’s driver’s license be revoked due to age or health issues. It was a link to a Coeur d’Alene Press story about how you know when it’s time for an elderly driver to give up driving, and who is responsible for enforcing such a move; the driver’s family or the government.
A gentleman who started ‘Keeping Us Safe,’ a campaign to keep older drivers safe, posted information on some of the resources his movement offers. Matt Gurwell is a former Ohio State Trooper and what grabbed my attention about his campaign is why he started it. He says it was the result of 20-plus years of holding dying people in his arms at accidents scenes and delivering death notifications to families.
Among other things, Keeping Us Safe offers a self-assessment program for older drivers, a course in identifying signs of decline in the elderly and a workbook called “Beyond Driving with Dignity” that was developed to offer families a roadmap on how to address the issue of driving safety with an older adult in your family.
So if you have an older driver in your family, you may want to check out the Keeping Us Safe website.