CarFit Training Teaches OTs to Help Older Drivers Adjust Their Cars for Safe Driving

The University of St Augustine for Health Sciences (USAHS) offers CarFit technician training, which teaches occupational therapists how to assist older drivers to adjust their vehicles more comfortably and promote safe driving.

The American Society on Aging, along with AAA, AARP, and the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), developed the CarFit initiative to help older people improve their cars’ fit and comfort so that they could drive more safely.

“As people grow older, changes in physical, mental and sensory abilities begin to occur,” says Jennie DiGrado, OTD, professor of the USAHS Master of Occupational Therapy program and CarFit facilitator, in a media release from USAHS.

“These transformations can lead to challenging a person’s ability to drive. Here at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, we focus on both traditional and innovative solutions in occupational therapy to help our patients of all ages. We began facilitating CarFit technician training on the San Marcos campus over the past year and have worked with more than 300 students in total,” she adds.

Through the CarFit program, occupational therapists teach elderly drivers to not only make adjustments, but how to make specific adjustments—such as to their cars’ mirrors, steering wheel tilt, position to the airbag and to the brake/gas pedal, and the operation of vehicle controls—to fit the car to their aging bodies.

“In terms of CarFit, occupational therapists may use their expertise of body structures and various progressive conditions often seen in the aging population to provide education on the different items available for the vehicle,” DiGrado continues.

DiGrado states in the release that CarFit events sometimes don’t have a great turnout due to the perception among older drivers that their driving is being assessed and that their car keys may be taken away from them. However, this is not the case.

“CarFit events are created to be a safe zone to openly discuss safe driving and help educate drivers on the options that can make a car fit an individual,” she explains. “Most of the equipment we recommend is easy to use and allows participants more freedom to drive safely in their car.”

[Source(s): University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, PR Newswire]

[PRNewsFoto/University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences]