BOSTON — By 2012, approximately 10,000 Americans will turn 65 every day and by 2030 our overall senior population will reach nearly 71 million, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and The Merck Company Foundation. As America ages, seniors and their families are identifying transportation and driving safety as among their top growing concerns. Indeed, the more than 30 million senior drivers aged 65 or older on the road today, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, must now or will soon need to acknowledge physical limitations that will cause them to reduce their driving or seek alternative transportation altogether.
Liberty Mutual, the eighth largest car and home insurer in the U.S., and ITNAmerica, the first and only national, non-profit transportation network for America's aging population, have joined forces to help keep senior drivers safe on our roads. The new partnership addresses this growing national concern with resources for seniors and their families seeking practical, affordable and dignified mobility solutions at http://www.libertymutual.com/seniordriving.
"Today's older Americans are among the most active and community-engaged seniors in our nation's history, and mobility and independence are essential to preserve those great qualities," said ITNAmerica founder and president, Katherine Freund. "With the support of Liberty Mutual, we will grow this community-based transportation network across the country and will provide resources seniors and their families need to make responsible driving decisions."
ITNAmerica is an economically sustainable, community-based approach to senior mobility. It provides 24/7, personalized rides to seniors who limit or stop driving. Caring ITN volunteers from the local community and a small paid staff use their own or donated cars to bring member-riders to and from medical appointments, grocery shopping, work, exercise, and a host of social and personal local destinations. This senior transportation solution has met great success in ITNAmerica's first affiliate communities — Charleston, S.C.; Portland, Maine; Orlando, Fla; and Los Angeles — as a safe, responsible and dignified supplement to public transportation, without an additional tax burden on the local population.
"At the core of our partnership with ITNAmerica is a shared belief that doing the right thing through responsible acts is something to be celebrated," said Greg Gordon, Liberty Mutual vice president of Consumer Marketing. "Liberty Mutual will help ITN elevate this issue and provide actionable resources for seniors and their families to make good, safe transportation decisions."
The new Liberty Mutual/ITNAmerica website (http://www.libertymutual.com/seniordriving) offers tips for mature drivers on how to stay safe on the road and how to make adjustments to their driving habits. It also offers guidance to adult children on how to address transportation concerns and solutions with their aging parents.
