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March 8, 2007 in Voices
AARP offers drivers a refresher
For 28 years, AARP has offered its Driver Safety Program to seniors.
The classes discuss defensive driving techniques, new traffic laws, how to adjust to age-related changes in vision, hearing and reaction time, and rules of the road.
The classes are four hours a day for two days, or eight hours for one day, and are sponsored by the facilities at which they are held.
The sponsors provide a classroom, television and a VCR for the students.
The driver’s program used to be called “55 Alive,” but in recent years, many traffic courts have required it for young repeat traffic law offenders.
Companies with company cars use the classes as a refresher course for their employees, and many state agencies will use the course as a refresher for those employees using state-owned vehicles.
The state of Washington requires insurance companies to give drivers older than 55 a discount for taking the class.
The amount of the discount will vary depending upon the insurance company.
“At the end of the second day, they get a certificate,” said Arlene Giles, the assistant state coordinator for Eastern Washington zone 5 section 6 of the AARP Driver Safety Program. Students are given a copy for their own records, one for the insurance company and one for AARP.
The cost of the class is $10.
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