The goal of a recent event in Fort Myers is to encourage older adults to remain active and independent through a program called CarFit. It fits senior drivers into their own vehicles and adjusts them so that they’re as comfortable and safe as they can be. The event took place during Older Americans Month this May. This year’s theme is “Safe Today. Healthy Tomorrow.”
CarFit was designed by the American Society on Aging. It’s funded locally by the Florida Department of Transportation and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. A CarFit representative checks how well a driver “fits” in their vehicle. The check promotes conversations about driver safety in today’s mostly automatic cars, said Gerald McNulty, a Lee County deputy and crime prevention officer.
“Here in Florida we have an older population that have been driving for many, many years and they know what they’re doing, but what we’re doing with CarFit is we’re making sure they fit the new vehicles,” said McNulty. “Many of the vehicles they started driving were standards, now they have automatics. They didn’t have air bags back then, so hand positioning on the steering wheel is different, so there’s little tweaks that we help them to make them better.”
At a recent CarFit event at the South Trail Fire Department, Carolyn Baker-McCord, who works for Nurse On Call Home Health, went through the check-up. McNulty asked about her driving habits. He made sure her seat belt felt comfortable around her shoulder and neck and that her seat was positioned the appropriate distance away from the steering wheel.
While most may think CarFit is solely for older folks, people of all ages should do it, Baker-McCord said.
“I am not of retirement age and I’ve learned a few things about my mirrors and I’m always in the car driving so it was very beneficial to me and I think everybody can benefit from this,” she said.
Deputy Gerald McNulty noted CarFit has only been local for 3 or 4 years, but it’s growing. He said it’s important people know it’s not a “law enforcement event.”
“We’re not out there to try to find something wrong to take anybody’s license,” he said. “That’s not it. This is educational.”
For information on how to get a car-fit check-up go to car-fit.org.