It's a Happening! CarFit Helps Senior Drivers Improve Comfort and Safety

Are you 60 something and not entirely happy with the way your car “fits” you?

Help is at hand, in the form of a CarFit event, where you can spend a very productive 20 to 30 minutes and come away with a list of improvements you can make to your car that will increase your driving comfort and safety.

CarFit is a nationally recognized educational program designed to help senior drivers assess their current vehicles to see how well they “fit” their driving needs, and determine what actions need to be taken to improve this fit.

A proper fit greatly improves not only the comfort and safety of the senior driver on the road, but also the safety of any other drivers they may interact with.

CarFit was developed by the American Society on Aging (ASA) in collaboration with The American Automobile Association (AAA), the American Association for Retired Persons (AARP), and the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA).

CarFit aims to reduce senior crashes and the death and injuries that may result, by reviewing each of the following criteria:

1. Safety belt use 2. Steering wheel tilt 3. Head restraint setting 4. Positioning to air bag 5. Line of sight over steering wheel 6. Positioning to gas pedal 7. Positioning of brake pedals 8. Mirror adjustment 9. Neck Mobility 10. Operation of parking brake 11. Operation of ignition key 12. Operation of other vehicle controls

CarFit can also provide valuable information to seniors that have difficulty:

- Reaching the shoulder harness and buckling/unbuckling the seat belt - Getting into and out of their vehicle easily - Turning their head to look over their shoulder while changing lanes - Sitting comfortably, without knee, back, hip, neck or shoulder stiffness or pain.

At a CarFit event, a team of trained technicians and/or health professionals work with each participant to ensure they "fit" their vehicle properly for maximum comfort and safety.

In a recent evaluation of 300 seniors...

...over one-third (37%) had at least one critical safety issue/need addressed ...one in ten (10%) were seated too close to the steering wheel ...approximately 20% did not have a line of sight at least 3" over the steering wheel
To learn more about CarFit, visit:
http://www.car-fit.org/
For a US Map of Car-Fit Events, visit:
http://www.car-fit.org/carfit/EventMap
To register for a CarFit Event, visit:
http://www.car-fit.org/index.php?/carfit/RegisterCarFit