Honing road skills

Alicia Robinson

When instructor Dan Worthington begins his classes, he tells students

he’s there to save their lives.

He teaches a safety course for older drivers that’s sponsored by

the AARP. Although his students are generally older than 50 and

sometimes older than 80, the material covered in the class may be all

new to them.

“A great many people who are attending these classes, their first

transportation was a horse,” said Worthington, who is 68.

He’s been a volunteer instructor for the course for a year. AARP

has offered safety courses for older drivers for 13 years.

In his classes, Worthington covers some subjects specific to older

drivers. For example, he said, drivers’ reaction times peak at age 17

and get slower from then on. Their eyesight and hearing diminish as

they age.

Students get tips on being a safer driver, such as avoiding

freeways if they aren’t confident, and making sure they know where

they’re going before setting out. Worthington even explains newer car

features, such as anti-lock brakes, that older drivers might not have

used before.

“In eight hours these students are given information that they’ve

never thought about,” he said. “It ensures that the aged driver is

going to be better prepared for the traffic conditions that are now

being presented to them that when they first started driving ...

weren’t anything like that.”

After teaching the two-session courses every month, Worthington

has become a better driver, he said. He decided to become a volunteer

instructor after hearing about it from a college friend, who had been

an instructor with the program for several years.

“He encouraged me,” Worthington said. “He said, ‘If you want

something that’s really satisfying in your life and you want to feel

like you accomplished something, get yourself trained as an AARP

instructor. It’ll be the delight of your life.’ And it has.”

Sometimes, after learning about the hazards for older drivers,

people decide they’re safer off the road, but Worthington is prepared

to cover that too.

“We let them know it’s not the end of the world if they don’t feel

safe driving anymore,” he said.

For information on the AARP driver safety course, call (888)

227-7669 or visit https://www.aarp.org/drive.