Age-old quandary: When should elderly stop driving?

Nov. 03--On Oct. 10, an 83-year-old driver hit a New Windsor couple who were crossing East Main Street in Washingtonville at about noon on a beautiful, sunny day, according to police. The driver stopped briefly, then took off for the Dunkin' Donuts down the street.

The driver was arrested after a good Samaritan blocked him in with his car and called police. He was charged with leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, a misdemeanor.

"He basically almost killed my parents and then he left the scene," said William Sherwood of Washingtonville, talking about the accident that put his stepfather, Richard Gebhardt, 71, in the hospital for four days for surgery on his left leg. Sherwood's mother, Diana Gebhardt, 66, also injured her leg.

On Sept. 24, Michael Jordan, 69, of the Town of Newburgh, was killed after he stepped into the road outside his home on Pressler Drive and was struck by a car driven by an 86-year-old. That accident is still under investigation.

And on Sept. 13, a 74-year-old woman drove her car into an apartment building at Ulster Garden Court in the Town of Ulster. Authorities said she jumped a curb and traveled more than 15 feet across a lawn before smashing into the building. Fortunately, no one was in the apartment at the time, and the driver suffered only minor injuries. Town of Ulster police said the woman had a medical condition that led to the accident, and she was not charged.

People are living longer, they're driving longer, and sometimes they're continuing to drive when they should give up their keys. Washingtonville police Sgt. Frank Basile Jr., who investigated the Oct. 10 accident, has been in law enforcement for 32 years. During that time, he said, he's handled about a dozen accidents involving elderly motorists who shouldn't have been driving.

Safety vs. independence

Basile cautions that "everybody's different" when it comes to aging, but as drivers get older, family members should put an "extra set of eyes" on that older relative to head off potential problems. It's a tough call, because as both Basile and Deborah Allen, the director of the Sullivan County Office for the Aging said, it can become a choice between independence and safety. Most people in the region are heavily dependent on cars, and giving up driving can mean a devastating loss of independence.

"You don't want them to lose their independence," said Allen, who's been with the Office for the Aging for 30 years. "But sometimes you have to sit down and have a conversation with them about safety. You can say, 'I'm worried about your driving,' and they're going to say they're fine," Allen said. "But if you mention something like, 'Joe Blow noticed you ran a stop sign,' nine out of 10 times, it works."

Allen said there are 100-year-olds who are driving and have never had an accident. But she suggests anyone 75 and older who is driving should see their general practitioner and an ophthalmologist "just to make sure things are on the up-and-up."

Sometimes drivers do notice problems on their own and cut back on driving, or take themselves off the road entirely.

"I've noticed my memory isn't what it used to be," said Bucky Simpson, 83, of Johnson, a hamlet in the Town of Minisink. "There are times when I hand the keys to my wife and say, 'Here, you drive.'"

On a recent Saturday, Simpson joined about 50 other seniors for Joe Kovacs' AARP-sanctioned course at Middletown's Mulberry House Senior Center. The average age was 73. The oldest participant, Louis Lofrese of Middletown, was 92. The classes teach seniors to watch out for problems that can affect elderly drivers and brush up their driving skills. Many insurance companies offer discounts for completing such courses. Potential health problems were a key topic that Saturday.

"If something happens, the first thing they'll ask you is if you took pills," warned Kovacs, who has been teaching AARP driving courses for 15 years. Kovacs cautioned participants to try out new medications well before they set out for a drive.

Another issue the students had to tackle: technological improvements like backup cameras, complicated display screens and self-parking cars. "I'll take my '38 Buick," one participant quipped as Kovacs started a lecture on new technology.

"A lot of this new stuff can help you, but it can be distracting," said Belen Medina, 70, of Middletown.

Lofrese, the 92-year-old, started driving at 16 on one of those trucks that delivered big blocks of ice. He said cataract surgery helped with nighttime driving, but he's still driving mostly during daylight hours. Other than that, Lofrese said, he's still driving much the same way he's been going along for the past 76 years.

"I feel like I always had no problems," Lofrese said, "but that can change."

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