Program Offers Car Check Ups For Seniors In Bucks County
By Mark Abrams
UPPER MAKEFIELD, Pa., (CBS) – A Bucks County trauma center offered free checks for senior drivers and their vehicles Thursday.
At the Upper Makefield Fire Company engine house, empty bays served as the inspection areas as senior drivers pulled in to take part in the CarFit campaign supervised by St. Mary Regional Trauma Center.
Trauma Prevention Coordinator Kimberly Everett says the inspections are designed to make sure the driver is seated properly in the car and that all safety devices are positioned correctly.
"Are they 10 inches from the steering wheel, because if they're too close, when that airbag deploys it could cause injury. Are they using their mirrors correctly? Or, are they focused too much on seeing their own vehicle and are they not using them that they could fill their blind spots a little more and help if they have decreased peripheral vision," said Everett.
Mitzi Forman, from Langhorne, says the inspection was a big help.
"Getting older and getting shorter, I wasn't seeing enough above the wheel. They lowered the wheel, they fixed the seat belt, they raised my seat, pushed me back."
Everett says St. Mary's is planning to offer the CarFit inspections on a regular basis to seniors in Bucks beginning in May.