The Occupational Therapy graduate students assisted 30 drivers in vehicle safety at CarFit Oct. 7 at First United Methodist Church in Conway.
The graduate students attended a four-hour training session with AARP representatives Sept. 22 to learn the process of checking the vehicle’s safety to better fit the driver to the car. The classes are geared toward helping to educate elderly individuals to operate their vehicles properly.
Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy Letha Mosely said elderly drivers don’t know they can adjust their car to better suit them.
The event was separated into three sessions on Oct. 1, 4 and 7.  The first group of trained students volunteered at the Senior Wellness Center in Maumelle and the second group volunteered at CarFit on Oct. 4 on campus by College Square Apartments. The Last group met at the United Methodist Church in Conway.
Mosley said this event was the fourth year that involved students.
“This event is a great way to get the students involved and helps them to practice what they learn,” she said.
Mosley said a lot of the students were skeptical about working with elderly individuals but changed their minds after working the CarFit program.
Graduate student Karen Ford said the students worked off a checklist to determine how fit each driver was to their vehicle.
The checklist required the drivers to check their mirrors, position their seats and review their ability to operate the vehicle’s controls.
Volunteers made suggestions to each driver on how he could improve or position any necessary changes but were not able to make adjustments to the participant’s vehicles.
“We were not able to make any adjustments to the clients’ vehicles unless they asked us to, because if something happened to them while they were driving after they left here, we could get in a lot of trouble,” Ford said.
Although the students were not able to make major changes or apply adaptations to a participant’s vehicle, they directed the participants to local businesses that provided the proper resources to the drivers’ needs.
The checklist gave the students 12 items to inspect that determined how many individuals operated each vehicle, inspected for proper seatbelt usage of the driver, checked the steering wheel’s tilt and distance to the driver, determined the driver’s mobility and ability to check blind spots, ability to operate controls and checked for other safety concerns.
Graduate student Jessica Slater said it was really important to check for the driver’s positioning to the steering wheel.
“A lot of people don’t realize that you need to be at least 10 inches away from the steering wheel to be safe when the airbag goes off. Also, you need to be able to see at least three inches above the steering wheel,” Slater said.
Graduate student Rusty Tucker said the drivers were informed how to properly check their mirrors and to better view their blind spots.
He said because the event was a volunteer program, the students could not take the participants’ driver’s licenses away.
“It’s an educational event, strictly confidential. We cannot take someone’s license away because of any hazard to their vehicle or for not wearing their seatbelt, but we tell them how to adjust their seatbelts and fix any problem they may have with their car,” Tucker said.
The technician-trained students showed the drivers adaptive equipment that can make operating their vehicles easier.
Graduate student Kensey Cable said the drivers could install a Lazy Susan in their cars to move around in their seat easier.
She said the drivers were informed about shoulder pads for seatbelts, “hole-in-one” key holders to help them turn keys and cap-offs.
“People with arthritis could really benefit from cap-offs because they help individuals with joint pains to twist off gas caps,” Cable said.
Graduate student Kaitlin Elledge said even though the events are geared toward older individuals, anyone can benefit from them.