Shining a Light on Safe Driving, Caregivers

With Daylight Savings Time ending, and AARP Driver Safety Month and National Family Caregivers Month beginning, November is an opportune time to brush up on driving skills, have an important family conversation or recognize a caregiver.  

Keeping the Roads Safe

As Daylight Savings Time ends on Nov. 1, AARP is encouraging Iowa drivers to consider the link between night visibility and safe driving.  If you have trouble seeing well at night, have your vision checked, and consider taking a driver safety course to learn more about how to compensate in dark conditions and make sure you’re driving when you feel the most comfortable.  

Now celebrating its 30th Anniversary, the AARP Driver Safety Program has provided classroom instruction to more than 12 million participants nationwide wanting to refresh their driving skills. The no-test course updates drivers’ defensive driving techniques, knowledge about relevant laws, and offers strategies to overcome age-related changes that may affect driving ability. 

The course also includes a section on assessing driving abilities, which can be a helpful entree to having a family conversation about driving.  

Courses are available in most communities across the Iowa, or online.  

The Iowa Family Caregiver Program partners with the AARP Driver Safety Program to list times and locations of all Driver Safety classes to support family caregivers who worry about the ability of their loved ones to continue driving safely. 

AARP also offers guidance and resources to conduct important family conversations about driving.  

Celebrating Caregivers

If you know a family caregiver or you’re one of the more than 310,000 family caregivers in Iowa, you’ll want to take advantage of the wide range of seminars, retreats and respite and support services planned during National Family Caregiver month in November.  

Sponsored by your local area agency on aging and supported by the Iowa Family Caregiver Program, the events are designed to provide tips, tools, respite, pampering, recognition and coping resources for those who provide caregiving throughout the year. 

Among the programs offered are two “Fearless Caregiver Conferences” on Nov. 3 in Creston and Nov. 5 in Decorah; a “Tips and Tools for Caregivers” program on Nov. 6 in Waterloo and Caregiver Wellness Day on Nov. 13 in Cedar Rapids.

Caregivers can also find supports and information on coping with caregiving and work, answers to legal and health questions, as well as a wide range of resources, tools, videos, and on-line support group access 24-7 online.

Find more information on both Driver Safety classes and Caregiver support programs, visit the Iowa Family Caregiver Web site.

Find resources and information on how to conduct important family conversations about driving.