SENIORS: DRIVING : Street Smarts : Courses may cut insurance costs as older drivers brush up on safety and the laws of the road.

By taking one of several “55 Alive Mature Driving” classes offered throughout Ventura County each month, drivers 55 and older can qualify for a discount on their car insurance premiums as they review traffic laws and learn safety strategies for coping with today’s frenetic roadways.

“Older drivers think that they are the last people to need a refresher course,” said Michael Seaton, founder of the national program sponsored by the American Assn. of Retired Persons. But statistics contradict this belief. Drivers 55 and older compose 25% of the nation’s drivers and have 18% of the accidents. Yet seniors drive less than most people, making them a high-risk group for accidents per miles driven, second only to motorists age 16-25. Furthermore, “information from the U.S. Department of Transportation reveals that drivers 65 and older are more likely to be judged at fault in an accident,” Seaton added.

Bill Funk, 71, an area coordinator, has been teaching “55 Alive” classes since his retirement five years ago. Funk said he and other instructors are “trying to create awareness to overcome the complacency of people who’ve been driving 30 to 60 years or more.”

The enormous changes in driving conditions over the years are reason enough to take the course.

“Forty years ago you didn’t have to worry about the number of poor drivers or those who were under the influence,” said Dr. M. Ciaramelli Cook, a retired Moorpark physician who just completed a class with Funk. “When I started driving in Tennessee, your worst fear was meeting a hay truck going 9 m.p.h. You didn’t dare drive fast in case there was a deer or cow on the road.”

According to Paul Wilson, an area coordinator and Oxnard instructor for the program, seniors learned to drive in informal ways. “High school driver’s education programs didn’t begin until the mid-1950s,” Seaton said. “This means most senior citizens never had classroom instruction on the laws and factors involved in operating a motor vehicle.”

Moreover, Wilson observed that they tend to assume that their skills and reflexes have not diminished over the decades. Nevertheless, accidents involving older drivers are usually caused by diminished vision, hearing, or reflex time.

The two most common accidents involving senior motorists are failure to yield the right of way and unsafe left turns. Oscar Fuller, assistant Ventura County sheriff, said it is rare for a senior citizen to have a license revoked for “significant risk to the motoring public,” but in extreme cases they do make unsafe lane changes or impede traffic.

Taught entirely by trained senior volunteers, the eight-hour class can be taken over one or two days. Potential liability problems rule out hands-on driving and restrict instruction to the classroom. Enrollment is limited to 30 people and $8 buys a workbook and a California DMV code book and supplement. The instructor uses slides and tapes to spark discussion about the frustrations older drivers experience. Seniors complain most about tailgaters and people who don’t dim their lights on approach.

The class covers traffic laws, vehicle maintenance, emergency maneuvers and safety awareness. Participants receive suggestions for overcoming driving problems associated with aging. They review how to deal with business environments, parking lots and backing up. Funk said perceptions change with age, making it difficult to judge the speed and distance of approaching vehicles. Instead of turning left against traffic, drivers can make three right turns around the block and cross the street more safely. Funk also noted that 89% of older drivers do not use seat belts.

Like most people, Cook took the class to get the insurance discount. Laws in 30 states require auto insurance companies to give an unspecified reduction to seniors who have completed a state-approved class such a “55 Alive.” Seaton said drivers in California generally save about $30 per year for three consecutive years, and the discount averages 5-10% nationally.

Results of the first major follow-up study by any insurance company suggests that “55 Alive” pays off in more than dollars. The Hartford Insurance Company, underwriters for AARP auto insurance, reported that the 100,000 graduates of “55 Alive” whom they insure filed 10% fewer loss claims last year due to auto accidents. In a letter to Seaton, the company stated that its reduction in premiums “is fully justified.”

Once in the class, seniors “are amazed at what they learn,” Wilson said. He said feedback and developed awareness occasionally spur someone to ponder “whether they should even be driving anymore.”

California was one of the four states where “55 Alive” started in 1979. It now operates in all 50 states and expects to serve about 400,000 seniors next year. “We’re trying to expand the program by training new instructors,” Funk said. “During 1991, we anticipate that 45,000 older drivers will complete classes in California alone.”

Instructors are still needed locally to employ the program’s Spanish instructional material. Classes are usually held at senior centers, but groups can sponsor a class at other sites.

For information on class schedules or becoming an instructor, call your local senior center or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to P.O Box 1355, Simi Valley, Calif. 93062.