Brush up on your driving knowledge and get behind the wheel with newfound confidence the next time you take to the road.
The Staying Safe refresher course for older drivers has been presented by Age Concern in Tauranga for about 20 years.
Funded by the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, the course is free to participants and helps to encourage greater road safety.
Pāpāmoa 83-year-old Sue Brown recently took the course and says it helped her remember things she had forgotten.
“I’m coming up to 84 so I’ve had my licence for quite a while and I’ve been driving for about 65 years,” says Sue.
“I found it [the course] very informative and I sort of brushed up my memory.”
The four-hour course is classroom-based with no test or exam.
As a senior driver you will learn about the effects of aging such as the effects of medication, slower reaction times and a reduction in eyesight and hearing.
You will also be encouraged to think about how these things affect you individually and how to counteract them.
“I think the course is a must as you get older,” says Sue.
“It’s a good refresher and way to bring everything back.”
Going over the road code, the course discusses give way rules, intersection rules and the use of roundabouts, road markings and signs.
Bookings are essential for this free course. To book phone (07) 578 2631.
3 comments
Scary
Posted on 17-03-2024 08:16 | By Inmediasres
What we NEED is a practical driving test annually for everyone over 70.
I know a number of oldies who are terrible drivers but they are blissfully unaware of how bad they've become.
They don't realise how poor their reaction times and awareness has become.
It's scary to know they're on the roads.
They should be made to test their skills in a stimulator manually to keep their license. Specifically testing peripheral vision, spatial awareness and most importantly, reaction times.
Many would, and should, lose their license for good.
With am aging population, it'll only get worse.
@Inmediares
Posted on 18-03-2024 13:48 | By morepork
Your bias against aged drivers is misplaced. Sure, there are some who maybe shouldn't be driving, but you could certainly say the same about teenagers and the rest of the driving community. Older folk do tend to drive slower, and that is a mixed blessing, but they don't cause the carnage that comes from high speed loss of control or impact. I know three people who have recently taken the decision to stop driving, as being the responsible thing to do. I wonder if you will do that when you become aged? What we should have is better access to advanced and defensive driving courses (maybe subsidized) and the course described in the article is an excellent initiative. General standards of driving in this country are, regretfully, poor, and reflect selfish disregard for other users. A national campaign could change that.
In light of my response to Inmediares...
Posted on 18-03-2024 13:54 | By morepork
The Motorist's Prayer.
Lord, grant me a steady hand and a watchful eye
That no-one should be hurt when I pass by.
Thou gavest life; I pray no act of mine
Will take away or mar that act of thine.
Shelter those, Dear Lord, who bear me company
From evil of fire, and all calamity.
Teach me to use my car to meet their needs.
Nor miss, through love of speed, the beauty of this world,
That thus I may
In joy and courtesy go on my way.
I can't find the author of this, but I learned it by osmosis as it hang in the lounge of the Car Club I joined in my twenties.
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