CarFit, a national program, is offering a free check up in Bradenton

MANATEE -- When she was a teenager learning to drive, Manatee County's Ruth Rauch remembers being taught to adjust her side mirror so she could see the side of her car as she glanced at it while in motion.

But driving science has changed and now experts want the mirror pressed outward not inward to eliminate blind spots, Rauch said last week.

For senior drivers -- Rauch is 60 -- there have been numerous changes in driving wisdom to keep up with since the 1950s and 1960s, but the most important change is that seniors should have a check up from time to time just to see if everything in their car still "fits," Rauch said.

"There is actually a national program called CarFit that utilizes occupational therapists to help seniors check to see if everything in their car is adjusted right and comfortable for them," Rauch said.

Thanks to a partnership between the occupational therapy assistant program at State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, and the South Bay Occupational Therapy Forum, older drivers in Manatee and Sarasota will be able to get a free CarFit check up Sunday, April 24.

The safety check will be offered free to seniors from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the main parking lot of State College of Florida, 5840 26th St. W., Bradenton.

Rauch is actually a certified occupational therapy assistant herself and has been a CarFit volunteer.

"It's a national program developed by AAA and the American Association of Retired Persons and the American Occupational Therapy Association," Rauch said.

Seniors don't have to worry about anyone "ordering" them to change a thing at the event, Rauch said. Everything they will learn Sunday will be a suggestion.

"It's fun, it's anonymous, no records are kept of anything," Rauch said. "All the suggestions are purely just that. The drivers may or may not adopt the suggestions."

CarFit's trained professionals will go through a 12-point checklist with each driver on Sunday and will recommend minor adjustments to help make their cars "fit" better, Rauch said.

Here, according to CarFit officials, are some of the 12 checks:

* Safety belts positions will be checked to see if they sit low on the hips and across the shoulder. They should not be twisted, loose, under the arm or behind the back.

* The steering wheel, housing the air bag in its center, will be examined to see if it is adjusted so the center is aimed toward the driver's chest and not the head.

* The head restraint will be checked to see if it is touching the back of the head or within two and a half inches of the back of the head, which it needs to be to prevent whiplash and resulting neck injuries.

* As people age, seated height commonly diminishes. This can occur slowly over time and changes often go undetected. The line of sight will be checked to see if the driver can see above the steering wheel and dashboard.

* It is important for a driver to be able to move their foot from the gas to the brake in a quick fashion without having to look at the pedals. Reaching with the toes to press the brake is unsafe and can cause leg or low back pain. Foot action will be checked.

* Drivers will be shown how to walk around their vehicles to check for proper tire pressure and clean headlights and windows.

Richard Dymond, Herald reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7072 or contact him via Twitter@RichardDymond.

This story was originally published April 20, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "CarFit, a national program, is offering a free check up in Bradenton ."