Freewheeling after Sixty: Design Your Personalized Transportation System

By Judi Bonilla

We’ve all heard about “The Keys Talk.” An important conversation to have; however gerontologist and aging expert Judi Bonilla asks us to have another conversation. What if we ask driver to examine “What does driving mean to you?” In Freewheeling after Sixty, Bonilla asks us to reframe our thoughts about driving and

• Language: English
• Publisher: Advocates For Aging
• Release date: Sep 17, 2016
• ISBN: 9780997652413

Book preview

Copyright © 2016 Judi Bonilla

Published by Advocates for Aging

Carlsbad, CA

ISBN: 978-0-9976524-0-6 paperback color

ISBN: 978-0-9976524-1-3 ebook version

ISBN: 978-0-9976524-2-0 paperback black & white

Cover design by Suzanne Santillan

Book design by Andrea Leljak

Editing and book production by eFrog Press

All rights reserved, which includes the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever without permission in writing from the publisher.

Requests for permission to make copies of any part of the work in any form should be emailed to the publisher at [e-mail]

First edition

This book is dedicated to Dr. Joaquin Anguera, Lecturer; School of Social Work at San Diego State University who showed me what a gerontologist might aspire to be.

Contents

Introduction

Chapter One: Freedom, Mobility, or Something Else?

A Story of Community Interdependence

Understanding Safe Driving

The Legacy of Interdependence

The Value of Social Capital

Understanding a Personalized Transportation System (PTS)

Developing Your Network

Where to Go from Here

Chapter Two: What You Must Know About Driving

Driving Habits

Health Factors and Driving

Occupational Therapists and Driving Rehabilitation Specialists

Action Plan

Chapter Three: Creating Community Connections

Family and Family Network

Social Network

Ride Sharing

Fostering Connections

Chapter Four: Community-Based Transportation Programs

Volunteer Driver Programs

Shopping Shuttles

Taxi Scrip

Knowing Your Resources

Chapter Five: Understanding Local Transportation Agencies

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Paratransit Services

Dial-A-Ride

Travel Training—How to Use Public Transportation

Figuring Out Your Needs

Chapter Six: Alternative Transportation Resources

Companion Care Agencies

Medicare/State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs)

Eldercare Locator Database

Rides in Sight Database

Tailoring Your Personal Transportation Network

Chapter Seven: Your Personalized Transportation System

Chapter Eight: The Future of Communities and Transportation

AARP Age-Friendly Cities and Communities

The Village Movement

From the Author

Acknowledgements

Resource List

End Notes

Introduction

If you are reading this book, you are in your sixties, seventies, eighties, or beyond. You might live in an urban, suburban, or rural community. You may be single, widowed, or married. Whatever your circumstances, with each passing year, and especially around your birthday, you may begin asking questions like these:

Will I be able to renew my driver’s license?

How much longer will I be able to drive?

What happens if I can’t drive?

I am a gerontologist, a healthcare professional specializing in the field of aging—changes over the lifespan—and my gerontology career began informally almost at birth. You see, I am the daughter of older parents. This single fact shaped both my childhood and adulthood as I watched my parents aging and continuing to pursue their dreams. The experience framed my view about aging as an opportunity and a time of empowerment.

It propelled me into the field of gerontology—my third career. I began with enrolling in the Certificate of Gerontology at San Diego State University; volunteer work with the City of La Mesa Adult Enrichment Center; a