Worried About a Loved-One’s Driving?

SARASOTA, Fla. - June 21, 2013 - PRLog -- June 21, 2013

Contact:  Matt Gurwell, Founder & CEO, Keeping Us Safe, LLC

(877) 907-8841 or info@keepingussafe.org

(Sarasota, FL) – Earlier this week headlines across Kansas newspapers read “Elderly friends killed in crash”.  The Wichita Eagle reports that the 90-year-old driver and his 85-year-old passenger were killed when they pulled out from a stop sign and into the path of a tractor-trailer.  Acquaintances of two elderly men say it happened as the friends were driving home from a daily visit to Tuttle Creek, where they liked to go and watch people fish.    

Just yesterday, KMBC-TV9 news (Kansas City, MO) reported that an elderly couple from Kansas was found safe after they became lost on a trip to Illinois, and stopped for directions at a gas station… in Michigan, nearly 400 miles off course.

Unfortunately, these types of tragedies or near-tragedies are occurring every day across both the United States and Canada.  To help combat this problem locally, and to provide a very needed service for families in and around the greater Sarasota area concerned about a loved-one’s driving, Diane Walz, owner of Good Life Care, has become certified in the nationally-recognized “Beyond Driving with Dignity” program.

Keeping Us Safe’s “self-assessment program for older drivers" serves as the foundation of their “Beyond Driving with Dignity” program.  The program was built on the premise that everyone (including older drivers!) wants to participate in decisions that affect them, and that very few of us will willingly accept the specific terms or even the spirit of decisions that have been dictated by someone else.

Walz explains “This individualized program has been designed to serve as a valuable tool in helping older drivers (and their families) make appropriate decisions regarding the future of one's safe driving career.  If the individual is a safe driver, we provide him or her with strategies on how to remain a safe driver as they progress through the aging process. If a driving retirement is the appropriate decision, then we provide the individual (and their family) with acceptable alternatives, resources and a very specific plan to ensure a smooth and successful transition from the driver's seat to the passenger seat.”

Matt Gurwell, Founder of Keeping Us Safe, states that “As a Certified ‘Beyond Driving with Dignity’ Professional, Walz facilitates the self-assessment program in the comfort and confidence of the older driver’s home.  The 3-hour program includes an actual on-road driving exercise, an in-depth ‘learning conversation’, as well as several non-intrusive, cognitive and memory-related exercises specific to driving.”

“The ‘Beyond Driving with Dignity’ program is designed to help older drivers with diminishing driving skills make a smooth transition from the driver's seat to the passenger seat, without deterioration to their dignity, personal pride or independence.  This innovative program is designed to save lives, while simultaneously helping to ease the burden of the family as they find themselves faced with this very challenging issue.”, explains Walz.

Gurwell, a retired Ohio State Trooper, explains "Our self-assessment program for older drivers provides families with the missing link between their desire to bring this issue to a peaceful resolution, and their ability to actually do so."

To schedule a self-assessment for the older driver in your family, contact Diane Walz at 941.822.0092 or visit the Good Life Care website at http://www.goodlifecare4u.com

To learn more about Keeping Us Safe’s programs, call toll-free 877-907-8841 or visit the Keeping Us Safe website at http://www.keepingussafe.org.