Tragedies Involving Older Drivers with Dementia Are Preventable

ROCHESTER, Mich. - Feb. 26, 2020 - PRLog -- (Detroit, MI) – Earlier this month, the storyline for ABC News affiliate (WHOI TV19) in Peoria, Illinois, read "Family of elderly driver in wrong-way crash says he suffered from dementia".

The story goes on to report that "a 79-year-old was driving the wrong way on Interstate 155 when he struck another vehicle head-on and was killed.  The driver of the other vehicle, a 20-year-old new mother, is in the hospital in serious condition."  A family member of the deceased says that the 79-year-old was "suffering from dementia and should not have been behind the wheel to begin with."

Sadly, tragedies involving older drivers with Alzheimer's Disease or some other form of dementia happen every single day across America.  Matt Gurwell, founder of Keeping Us Safe and a retired Ohio State Trooper explains "These crashes are completely avoidable.  Our 'Enhanced Self-Assessment Program' for older drivers was designed to help older drivers with diminished driving skills (cognitive and/or physical) make a smooth transition from the driver's seat to the passenger seat, before tragedy has the opportunity to strike."

Sarah Pearcy, CSA®, CDP®, founder of AccordantCare Senior Advising and one of Keeping Us Safe's Certified "Beyond Driving with Dignity" Professionals, adds "Keeping Us Safe's 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."  Pearcy explains that the three-hour session takes place in the older driver's home and that an on-road driving exercise is conducted in the individual's own vehicle.

In addition to this individualized program for older drivers and their concerned families, Keeping Us Safe has also developed a Strategic Highway Safety Initiative designed to help political subdivisions (municipalities, counties, metropolitan areas, states, etc.) develop and implement a plan to help reduce the incidence of older driver related traffic fatalities.

To learn more about Keeping Us Safe's proactive, life-saving programs, contact Sarah Pearcy at (248) 929-5700 or visit the Keeping Us Safe website at https://www.keepingussafe.org