Hey, I went carless years ago, otherwise I might be thinking these thoughts:
I've been driving safely for 50 years and never had a crash, so how dare you say I'm a danger to shipping?
Why do I have to have a cognitive test? Animals beginning with A? Ridiculous.
How am I going to get to choir if I can't drive?
Why won’t my son let me drive my mokopuna to soccer?
And, um, what are those things called buses?
These may sound familiar if you are starting to wonder whether you should be driving any more. Part of learning how to be old is learning to drive safely as long as possible, and how to recognise when you need advice or help. Fact is, everything changes over a lifetime of driving: roads, rules, cars, and our bodies, brains, needs and circumstances. Therefore we can't just carry on driving the same way forever without a review.
So I talked to Hariata Hema. Her role in Age Concern New Zealand is to run the Staying Safe Refresher Driving Course all around New Zealand, along with a small team. This is a one-day course to update your driving knowledge and also tackle those painful personal questions.
What has Hariata Hema taught me about driving safely even when you're old? Be honest with yourself, and think ahead, don’t wait for disaster to strike, be pro-active. And if you live in Aotearoa New Zealand, ask your local branch of Age Concern about their various courses, and especially the Staying Safe Refresher Driving Course. Short and oh so helpful and maybe necessary.
By the way, Hariata is 70, so she understands what is involved in driving safely into old age, not only professionally but also personally.
Age Concern's Staying Safe Refresher Driving Course
AA research on older drivers
Starting and stopping—writing? driving? living?