You should consider yourself privileged if you own a car and are a licensed and insured driver. I enjoy being able to get around independently with no waiting and no hassle! This is not so for millions of older adults who are no longer able to drive for various reasons. Some have never experienced the freedom that comes from being independently mobile. It is a life-altering experience for many seniors to stop driving after many years, and this is what more and more of them are facing. Their ability to drive an automobile allows them to feel fulfilled. It is a way of life for them.
Let's face it, the need for many older adults to promote personal well-being, enhance quality of life, and maintain personal dignity will always fuel their need to remain mobile.
I can't say I blame them. Their mobility provides access to health care, social services, recreational activities, and for some, employment.
This explains largely why seniors insist on driving longer these days and in larger numbers. If there is any doubt that this is true, just observe the drivers around you, in your neighborhood, on your way to work, or going to the movies.
Several years ago when my parents finally decided to move to South Florida, they had to confront the big challenge of transportation. My father does not drive and my mother was not accustomed to driving in the United States. While chatting with her one day, she told me that she was preparing to attend driving school.
She surprised me!
She said that she did not want to burden me, or anyone else for that matter, with transporting her and my father. After all, at the time she was a young fifty-something who wanted to remain independent, and nothing was going to stop her. I was proud to hear of her decision and quickly offered my support. Within days, my mother had selected a driving school and was soon engaged in driving lessons.
She was proud of herself and expressed her excitement about the whole experience. She successfully completed her driving course!
This was one of the best decisions she has ever made, and a decision that has positively impacted her lifestyle, and my father's. As expected, the first few days driving solo was a bit intimidating, but my mother is the fearless type. Not long afterwards, she was whipping along the streets of her neighborhood. "It's as if I've been driving all my life", she quipped.
My father, on the other hand, is satisfied with being chauffeured around town. He also enjoys riding his bike in the neighborhood and sometimes he even takes public transit.
My experience in managing a transportation system exposed me to the plight of those who are transportation disadvantaged. Not being able to move about as they wish means that they must plan their trips in advance.
Hence, the importance of having access to other forms of transportation services such as mass transit, paratransit, municipal transportation service, community bus service, friends, neighbors, or family members. While mass transit and community bus service play a vital role in keeping people mobile, I find that older adults tend to prefer the smaller, seemingly less intimidating, and more personal services that are provided by some municipalities.
To access public transportation means walking to a bus stop, which, for some is a far distance. It may involve taking two or three buses just to get to their destination. Some trips turn into all day events and this sometimes become an exhausting experience for older adults. Nonetheless, it gets them where they want to go.
A wonderful alternative for persons with disabilities is paratransit service. While others rely on family members or neighbors to help them, they are not always comfortable with this arrangement. They feel at times that they are being a bother and that they are disrupting the lives of others. Some seniors have told me that they prefer to depend on public transportation service than to rely on anyone. As most of them have learned, it's all about taking advantage of multiple resources in their community and planning their trips - sometimes weeks in advance. If you have never missed an important medical appointment, a chance to buy groceries, a trip to the pharmacy for life-saving medications, or a trip to some place you have always wanted to visit, then you really do not know what some seniors experience.
So the next time you are traveling along the roadways and the car in front of you seems to be in your way, don't get impatient it could be an elderly person holding on to the steering wheel and their independence. Be courteous, be sensitive, you may one day be in their place!
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