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How Old is Too Old to Drive?
July 20, 2009. By John Berman, Good Morning America, ABC News.
Good Morning America recently aired a story about senior driving. John Berman uses a simulator suit to demonstrate older drivers' problems.
Nonprofits Get a Boost From Uncle Sam
July 10, 2009. By Diana Ransom. SmartMoney.com
In April, President Obama signed into law the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which establishes a new $50 million Social Innovation Fund aimed at helping nonprofits. The fund is designed to funnel money into nonprofits that cater to policy areas in line with the administration’s priorities, including education, health care and economic opportunity.
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Senior Driving, Right or Privilege?
June 25, 2009. Jane Clayson, Host, Radio Boston
At the heart of it, driving is about freedom to come and go, when and wherever you please, pretty much on your own terms. As long as you stop at red lights and obey the speed limit, most of us look at "freedom of the road" as a constitutional right.
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Should seniors re-take driver's test?
June 24, 2009. By Paul Briand, Baby Boomer Examiner
Liberty Mutual is getting involved in the discussion by offering an online driving test, meant to simulate some of the challenges that elderly drivers face when they're out on the road.
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Suited Up As A Senior
June 23, 2009. By Daniel D'Ambrosio, Fairfield County Weekly
Is there anything that gets better at the age of 85? Well, maybe, but I can tell you from experience it isn't driving a car. Not that I'm that old — yet — but in a clever event staged by Boston-based Liberty Mutual insurance company last week at Rentschler Field, I got a taste of what it's like to drive a car at an advanced age.
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Too Old To Drive? When It’s Time To Surrender The Keys
June 23, 2009. By SACHA PFEIFFER. 90.9 WBUR
A handful of recent high-profile car accidents involving elderly drivers has state lawmakers considering legislation that would require extra testing for older drivers.
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A difficult drive in a suit designed to mimic effects of aging
June 18, 2009. By Vivian Nereim, Boston Globe
Globe Correspondent Vivian Nereim took part in a driving course while wearing a restrictive suit during a Liberty Mutual event on Wednesday marking the release of their "Driver Seat Game," an online video game designed to simulate the physical and cognitive limitations experienced by many elderly drivers.
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Senior Drivers, the Video Game
June 18, 2009. By Brad Drazen, WVIT-TV (Hartford NBC)
The Driver Seat Game, is a flash-based video game that makes you feel like you have physical and cognitive limitations that older drivers might experience while they’re behind the wheel of a car. Liberty Mutual and ITNAmerica are behind the video game experience.
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Never get old
June 17, 2009. By Susan Campbell, Hartford Courant
Susan Campbell's blog talks about Liberty Mutual launching an online "Driver Seat Game" that gives baby-boomers (and others) a taste of what driving is like for their parents.
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Behind the wheel as an elderly driver
June 17, 2009. By Erin Cox, WTNH-TV (New Haven ABC)
A new program is designed to put people in the driver's seat of an elderly person to see how age impacts driving.
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Senior Driving Challenges
June 17, 2009. By Jim Cline, WGGB-TV (Springfield ABC)
Retesting older drivers is gaining more interest.
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What it's like to be an elderly driver
June 17, 2009. By Veronica Cintron, WWLP-TV (Springfield NBC)
Liberty Mutual is raising awareness with a senior safety driving event at Rentschler Field in East Hartford. A company official took 22News for a ride to show the effects old age has on driving.
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Game Tests Effects Of Aging On Drivers
June 17, 2009. By Miko Kopelman, WFSB-TV (Hartford CBS)
Liberty Mutual holds demonstration about older drivers.
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Seniors seek driving force
May 27, 2009, By Gillian Slade, Medicine Hat News
Katherine Freund, founder and president of Independent Transportation Network (ITN) has a vision for ITN non-profit solution in Canada. Medicine Hat News posted a story about the event initiated by Alberta Motor Association in order to discuss exciting transportation options for seniors who no longer drive.
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Realizing Dignified Transportation for Seniors
April 2009, Philanthropy New York website, www.philanthropystories.org
More than one million older adults stop driving every year, and more than fifty percent of them stay home on any given day—partially because they lack transportation options. Moreover, three out of four older adults live in rural and suburban areas that lack a mass transit system. Because older people often own their cars past the point of being able to drive them safely, Katherine Freund, the founder of Independent Transportation Network® (ITN®), saw an opportunity to create a ride service through a mix of volunteers and staff drivers…
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The Role of "Aging in Place" in Financial Planning
March 2009, By Neal E. Cutler, PhD, Journal of Financial Service Professionals
Financial advisors primarily counsel middle-aged and older clients about their future financial life, because where we live and how we spend resources on our homes in older age is a critical piece of the planning jigsaw puzzle. However, we should include knowledge and understanding of aging in place as part of the financial gerontology toolkit.
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Senior driving: is it time to take the passenger seat
March 7, 2009, By David Gaunt, Examiner.com, USA.
A growing number of families will be looking for advice on how to approach a difficult subject: When should an older family member make the transition from the driver's seat to the passenger seat?
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2009 Inspire Awards
January/February, 2009. By Joe Treen, AARP The Magazine.
Ten Who Inspire: These go-getters are putting their passion into action to make the world a better place.
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Car Service Helps Older Adults Stay Independent
January 1, 2009, by Joseph Shapiro, National Public Radio, Morning Edition.
Two years ago, Dick Bowman's children approached him to say it was time for him to quit driving. The then-89-year-old had caused a couple of fender benders, including scraping another car while driving his Volvo in the parking lot at his tennis club.
Click here to listen to the interview.
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Groups work to start transportation service. One project moving faster than the other
December 27, 2008, By Jami Defenbaugh, Suburban Journals, St. Louis Metropolitan Area
Organizers are driving ahead with plans for two new transportation systems in St. Charles County, though one is moving faster than the other.
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Sen. Susan M. Collins: This holiday season, we recognize those who give the greatest gift of all
December 24, 2008, By Sen. Susan M. Collins, Foster's Daily Democrat, Southern Maine
'Tis the season of giving; that time for pretty paper, ribbons, and happy surprises. 'Tis also the perfect time to recognize those who give the greatest gift of all — the gift of service, of dedication, and of inspiration.
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ITNCharlestonTrident provides 10,000th ride!
Friday, November 21, 2008. By Jasiri Whipper, The Post and Courier.
ITNCharlestonTrident celebrated 10,000 rides Monday.
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THE THIRD AGE: Elderly have unique transport needs
By Ann Gowans, November 3, 2008, Columbia Daily Tribune, Columbia, MO
It is estimated that about 600,000 folks 70 or older stop driving themselves every year. One of the most important questions we must ask and problems we must solve during the next five to 10 years is: How do we keep these people socially active without moving them out of their homes?
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The Need for Improved Transportation Options for the Elderly and the Elder Advocate's Role
Ana I. Torres-Davis, Sept-Oct. 2008, Clearinghouse Review: Journal of Poverty Law and Policy
The current transportation systems in the United States are not equipped for the increasing nondriving elderly population, in particular the frail and vulnerable elderly.1 The two primary reasons for this are the current transportation limitations and the prospective demise of one of the most broadly used forms of medical transportation in the nation. Improving transportation for the elderly must be an immediate priority, or the nation will have a transportation crisis in the coming years.
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Too Old to Drive?
By: Laura Daily, June 2008, AARP.org Beta
An 80-something driver runs over a toddler or crashes into another vehicle killing the occupant. Immediately state legislators call for and/or enact tougher requirements for older drivers. Sound familiar?
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Old Without Wheels
By: Matt Palmquist, July 14, 2008, Miller–McCune
About 600,000 elderly stop driving every year. How can we keep them mobile?
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Dignified Transportation for Seniors, feature article by Katherine Freund
July 2008, Capital Commons Quarterly: The Dynamics of Aging and Our Communities
Trading their cars for rides is the "wacky" idea Katherine Freund realized with the Independent Transportation Network® in Portland, Maine. It is now taking root in many other communities across the nation and in this feature Katherine shares how her vision became a reality.
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Are your parents too old to drive?
July 7, 2008, Josh Max, New York Daily News
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Grant allows group to offer transportation for seniors
June 29, 2008, Herald Tribune.com
Jewish Family & Children's Services of Sarasota-Manatee Inc. recently received a $125,000 grant to establish a transportation network that will offer seniors transportation services.
The start-up grant, from the Community Foundation of Sarasota County's James Franklin Warnell & Dorothy J. Warnell Fund, will bring an affiliate of ITNAmerica to Sarasota.
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Transportation problems plague seniors at end of their lives
June 26, 2008, Marjorie Brooks, The Modesto Bee
Men can expect to spend the last six years of their lives dependent on others for transportation. For women the time is 10 years.
No wonder that at the latest White House Conference on Aging, lack of transportation was named the No. 3 problem in the lives of seniors, ahead of both Medicare and Social Security issues.
Click here to read the rest of Marjorie's story.
Innovative Elder Independence
Summer, 2008, Aging Well
Liberty Mutual and ITNAmerica have teamed up to provide a new online resource for families to find practical, affordable, and dignified mobility solutions for older adults who need to modify driving habits or stop driving.
Click here to read the rest of this story.
Independence in Transportation
June 14, 2008, Wendy Elliott, NovaNewsNow.com
The other week, there was a thought-provoking workshop called "Imagine No Barriers" held in Wolfville.
I went to hear keynote speaker Katherine Freund of the Independent Transportation Network® (ITN). There are networks operating in 10 U.S. cities and the notion is currently under development in Canada, but it was new to many.
Click here to read the rest of Wendy's story.
ITN public forum in Westport, CT.
May 30, 2008 Westport News
The Westport Human Services and Senior Services Commissions are assessing a program that might one day enable aging residents to give up driving without losing the mobility of having ready access to automobile transportation.
Click here to read the whole story.
Katherine Freund featured in the Wall Street Journal
February 16, 2008 The Wall Street Journal
Katherine Freund, founder of the Independent Transportation Network® and Executive Director of ITNAmerica, was featured in a Wall Street Journal article, "12 People Who Are Changing Your Retirement: These pioneers are shaping the way Americans will live, work and play later in life" (2/16/08).
She is also one of three people interviewed in the podcast: "Changing Shape of Later Life."
Elderly drivers have nothing to lose but their cars
September 01, 2007 Telegraph, Rebecca Feiner
Rebecca Feiner reports on a clever American scheme that allows the elderly to give up driving with no loss of freedom or dignity - could it work here?
In Equatorial Guinea it's considered a blessing to be greying at the temples, a sign of wisdom that should be honoured by the community. Alas in Britain it's more likely to be an early symptom of invisibility and imminent disfranchisement from the rest of society.
Better Options For Older Adults
May 28, 2007 Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, Helen Kerschner and Joan Harris
Older adults need to go to a variety of life-sustaining destinations—the doctor, grocery store, perhaps an exercise class. They want to go to any number of life-enriching locales—the library, recreation center, church, a volunteer job. By reaching these destinations, they continue to participate fully in society as workers, volunteers, family members, friends, and consumers. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to stay mobile as they age.
Volunteers take the driver's seat
May 02, 2007 USAToday, Robert Davis
When Virginia James decided she was too old to drive, the 92-year-old resident of Portland, Maine, looked for a new way to get around. She came across the Independent Transportation Network® (ITN), which began in Portland in 1995. It brings together volunteer drivers, donated cars and computerized scheduling to give rides for about $8.
More ways to get around
January 07, 2007 Herald Tribune
Imagine living without a car. For most automobile-addicted Americans, the thought of giving up the car keys is terrifying. Yet, it's a reality that many people -- including 45 million baby boomers -- must face as they grow older.
Out of the driver's seat, but still steering the course.
Summer, 2006, Ignition
In America, the car has long been a symbol of that most American attribute, the spirit of independence. But for those who first got their drivers license in the 1950s and 1960s, and there are millions of us, the time to consider when not to drive may not be far away.
Katherine Freund: Reinventing Life After Driving
Wayne Curtis April, 2006 AARP Bulletin
In 1988, Katherine Freund's 3-year-old son, Ryan, was crossing a street outside their home when he was badly injured by an 84-year-old driver, who later said he thought he'd hit a dog. For Freund, it was an abrupt and unfortunate introduction to the issue of older drivers. Freund later studied public policy in graduate school and learned that although the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had a department examining the issue, and though older drivers had among the highest rates of fatal crashes per mile driven, still, nobody had a good solution. So she made the issue her cause. Wayne Curtis spoke with Freund at her office in Westbrook, Maine.
Ticket to Ride
April, 2006 AARP Bulletin, Wayne Curtis
June E. Snow remembers the day in October 2003 when her 1984 Ford Tempo just would not start. Snow, then 77, knew that repairs would be costly, and that insurance payments and her AAA dues were coming due. So she walked back into her Falmouth, Maine, apartment and made the phone call she'd been dreading. She had the Tempo towed away, never to be replaced.
No longer driving, but as mobile as ever
February 07, 2006 The Christian Science Monitor, Sara Miller Llana
Because of failing eyesight, Mary Alice Crabb had to give up driving almost a decade ago. So when she lost her husband four years ago, she also lost her only transportation.
Seniors to get more transportation choices
January 22, 2006 Orlando Sentinel, Christopher Sherman
There are 4.6million Florida drivers older than 55, and many of them surely feel like Anne Hamilton.
Leave The Driving To Us
January 18, 2006 CBS News
Seventy-five-year-old Mary Austin leaves at 5:45 am sharp to exercise three days a week. Vision problems forced her to quit driving, but she refuses to quit living.
Low-budget senior ride program flourishes in Maine
January 16, 2006 The Boston Globe, David Sharp
PORTLAND, Maine --Margaret Emmons hadn't driven in more than 20 years. So when her husband died last fall, she had no use for their 1997 Ford Taurus.
Coaxing Seniors Out From Behind the Wheel
January 12, 2006 The Wall Street Journal, Kelly Greene
With the number of older -- and less safe -- drivers growing, dozens of new transportation programs are springing up around the country to make it easier for elderly people to give up their car keys.