Planning to Retire? Add Transit to Your Checklist

Written by Judy Bortman

We’ve heard the phase, “Location, location, location,” when scouting for places to buy or rent a home.  It’s now the mantra for the millions of seniors who are retiring, downsizing and selling the family home. They’re leaving the suburbs where driving was the only way to get around and migrating to the city where walkable neighborhoods and public transit abound.

Why this seismic shift?  Several factors are intersecting:

Americans are living longer:
According to Business Insider, the 65-74 age group is 10 times larger than in 1900 and the 85+ age group is 40 times larger.  Centenarians, people who are 100 years of age or older, is a word you’ll hear popping up more often in the coming years. There’s even a selection of Hallmark cards to celebrate that landmark birthday.

U.S. Census data from 2010 reveals that there are about 50,000 people over 100 in the United States, almost three times as many as there were in 1980.

Boomer Power:
Baby boomers, people born from 1946 to 1964, are retiring in droves. It’s estimated that 10,000 “boomers” in the United States are turning 65 every day until the year 2030.  The volume of this demographic wields tremendous social and economic clout as children of the 1960s continue to be trend-setters.  They’re leading the march from the suburbs to the cities.

Giving up the keys is a large part of the equation:
Many seniors want to stay active physically and mentally.  This means going out of the house, taking classes, doing volunteer work, getting together with friends and scheduling appointments.

Moving to a city or senior-friendly community can enhance the quality

of life for seniors who are no longer able to drive.  They can walk or take public transit

to appointments and activities that support their mental and physical well-being.

If you live in the suburbs most, if not all, of these activities require transportation which means driving by yourself.  Once a suburban senior no longer drives, they are isolated from activities, friends and are frequently challenged to get around to appointments and services. By living in cities, seniors can walk or take public transit, become “carfree” and still continue their lifestyle.

An excellent article about incorporating transportation into retirement planning, When Planning for Retirement, Consider Transportation, appeared recently in the New York Times.

It cites the American Journal of Public Health which states that Americans are outliving their ability to drive, on average 10 years for a woman and seven years for a man, and offers ideas to help incorporate transportation into retirement planning.

Is My Location Walkable?

Seniors who are researching places to move can get a snapshot of shops, services and transit in the neighborhood by checking the Walk Score for an address and measure its walkability.


The higher the Walk Score number on a scale from 0 to 100, the more you are able to walk to shops, services, recreation or connect to transit.

I wanted to try Walk Score so I looked up the walkability of the TransOptions office at 2 Ridgedale Avenue in Cedar Knolls . Our score is 29, on the low side, which means (as I already knew) that most errands require a car.
                                                             
If you scroll down on Walk Score page for the location you’ve entered, you’ll find public transit options including the route numbers for the local NJ TRANSIT buses that stop by our office.  This free site is a great place to start exploring “walkable communities” anywhere in the United States.

Change is a Challenge for most seniors
One of the programs I give at senior groups is called, Retiring from Driving: A Kinder Way to Give Up the Keys.  I address a “tough topic” - the normal, physical decline that happens with aging and how it impacts and limits seniors’ driving ability and safety.

Many seniors have told me that they feel uncomfortable driving at night, on highways, in rush hour traffic and during inclement weather. Most of these seniors are living in the suburbs, in the same home where they’ve lived for 40 years and raised their children.  They’re reluctant to change their residence or their transit routine because they don’t want to give up the keys and lose their independence.

There will come a time when change is inevitable, when the physical responsibilities of suburban homeownership become challenging or even overwhelming including cutting the grass in summer, raking leaves in the fall and shoveling snow in winter.  At this turning point the maintenance, time and cost of keeping upkeep of house make it a burden rather than a joy.

Perhaps then they’ll have to decide if it’s time for a change and at that point, may consider moving from the suburbs to the city.  Some seniors will decide to age in place and find people to assist with home maintenance.  Others will realize that it’s time to explore options that include selling the family home, cashing in on their investment and relocating to an apartment, condo or senior community where someone else handles the maintenance.

Seniors who decide to move to a city or walkable community may not even realize that walking to activities and taking public transit can add years to their lives.  By walking to shops, appointments and services, seniors are stretching their minds as well as their physical beings. Living in a city can even help them live longer. Perhaps they’re on the path be becoming centenarians!

Retiring from Driving: A Kinder Way to Give Up the Keys?

Written by Judy Bortman

Part 2 of 2.

Retirement is a major life decision that arrives after years of preparation and calculations. It's a milestone that we know will arrive someday. Most likely substantial thought has gone into the financial aspects of retirement.

I'd imagine that less time is spent pondering how retirement will change our daily routines and ingrained habits. Just as a senior spends considerable time thinking, planning and discussing retirement from work, shouldn't he do the same when it comes to driving?

Semantics can help re-tune a senior's mindset and transform a confrontational act of surrendering the keys to a conscious, planned process of "retiring" from driving.

If I were a senior citizen approaching the time when it was no longer safe to drive, I'd feel traumatized if I were suddenly told that the keys to my car were being taken away and I was being given a lifetime driving "time out."

Rather, if family members had started a dialogue some years before about the day when I need to modify, cut back and eventually stop driving, I'd find the transition more palatable because it was gradual, rather than abrupt.

"Retiring" is a relatable concept and a kinder-gentler way to plan for the day when it's time to relinquish the keys. It sounds like a planned, logical process with a goal in sight rather than the single, abrupt act of taking away the keys and stripping a senior of their freedom to come and go at will.

Making change is never easy, especially for seniors. However, fine-tuning our vocabulary, having candid conversations and spending time to find transit options can ease the transition from motorist to passenger.

Like the proverbial elephant in the room, giving up the keys is a large issue for seniors that's not going away and can't be ignored.

According to AARP, members of the Baby Boom generation will be turning 65 at a rate of 8,000 a day until 2030. Soon one in four drivers will be over 65. Many seniors drive for years beyond that benchmark; our driver's licenses don't have an expiration date. Are seniors that you know starting to show signs that they're not fit to drive?

Active and agile seniors have told me that they remain on the road by adjusting their driving to their abilities and their comfort zone. They prefer to navigate on local streets, during non-rush hour times and primarily during daylight hours.

While there are many road-savvy seniors, some wait too long to stop driving. During my commute, I occasionally see a Silver Alert message on the electronic billboard along Route 287, identifying the car of a senior driver who's "gone missing.

Silver Alerts broadcast information about missing persons, especially seniors, to aid in their return.

About 6 in 10 dementia victims wander at least once. According to the Alzheimer's Association, if they are not found within 24 hours, up to half of wandering seniors with dementia suffer serious injury or death.

Just as we're sometimes at a loss as to where we put the car keys or joke about having a "senior moment" because we forget what we were about to say, seniors can mentally "go missing" while driving.

They forget where they are, where they’re headed or why. Their family and friends are concerned when they don't arrive at their destination in a timely manner and anxiously await word that their car has been sighted. Hopefully the senior motorist is found and gets home safely.

When a behind the wheel "walkabout" occurs, a huge highway billboard is most likely not the first sign that it's time to give up the keys. Likely, a senior’s memory has been slipping before the Silver Alert incident and there have been signs that a senior driver is no longer fit to be behind the wheel.

It's never too soon to monitor the behind the wheel habits of a senior in your life by regularly checking their driving. If you observe these common warning signs, it’s time to start the dialogue about giving up the keys:

• Having two or more traffic tickets, collisions, fender-benders or "near-misses" in the past two years may result from diminishing skills, depth perception or reaction time.
• Confusing the gas and brake pedals or having difficulty working them may be a sign of waning leg strength.
• Ignoring or missing stop signs and traffic signals means the driver may not spot the signs in a crowded or moving visual field.
• Weaving, straddling the lanes, signaling incorrectly and not checking mirrors or blind spots can signal diminishing driving ability.
• Getting lost or disoriented easily, even in familiar places can indicate memory problems. 

Getting advice from the senior's physician can help determine when it's time to give up the keys.

• A number of groups and organization have helpful senior driving information:
• AAA, long a resource for drivers, has a resource-rich website dedicated to senior driving that can help seniors, their families and friends address age-related driving transitions.
• AARP also offers senior driving suggestions. Their Smart Driver™ Course is a refresher for drivers age 50 and older and helps by providing skills and tools to drive safely, thus adding to the time they remain independent.
• A website called Talk Early Talk Often has suggestions on how to begin and evolve a "giving up the keys" dialogue. The key is for seniors to take steps to transition gradually and maintain as much freedom and control of their life as possible like the other aspects of retirement.

Start today to help a senior you know face the music and gracefully give up the keys by "retiring" from driving. Sooner or later, we'll all need to move over to the passenger seat.

As Ruby and the Romantics reminded us so melodically in their 1963 hit song, Our Day Will Come.

Retiring from Driving: A Kinder Way to Give Up the Keys?

Written by Judy Bortman

Part 1 of 2.

My uncle is 87 and still driving. It's a scary thought for his well-being and for those he may encounter on the road. Like many seniors he's downsized and lives in an independent living community. Driving remains a necessity because there are few transit options. Shops and services are nearby, but on a busy road. How long can he safely drive even a short distance? When will it be time to "give up the keys?"

Just as we experienced normal body changes during puberty, aging has its own set of unique changes. Slower reflexes, vision adjustments (longer to focus and adjust to light), diminished hearing and memory lapses.

This leads me to question whether my uncle or any advanced senior is really fit to drive. How do you measure behind the wheel "fitness?" Physical strength, mental alertness, flexibility, visual clarity and rapid reaction times are all required. At some point, family or friends will need to have a heartfelt discussion about when, where and how often a senior can drive safely and what driving limitations are necessary to accommodate aging. Is it time to "give up the keys?"

Some changes to driving habits seem obvious. Say good-by to E-Z pass, only drive during the day, in non-peak times and near home. My uncle has made these adjustments and we’ve discussed the "limited range" of his driving, but I still worry. We're inching closer to the time when he'll need to relinquish the keys altogether. For now that benchmark remains on the horizon but it’s getting closer with each birthday.

According to a new survey released by Liberty Mutual Insurance, the majority of senior drivers are behind the wheel regularly, even those with limited physical abilities. While many seniors are safe drivers, the time will come when they, too, have to confront the reality that it’s time to limit or stop their driving.  

"'Giving up the keys' isn't being addressed by a majority of seniors or their children."

"Only 6 percent of seniors have spoken with someone, typically their children or a doctor, about their driving ability."

-Liberty Mutual Insurance Survey

8,000 Baby Boomers turn 65 every day.

Seniors fear losing their independence, becoming less active, having difficulty finding alternative transportation and feeling isolated. The Liberty Mutual survey revealed that more than half of children with senior parents were concerned about their parents' driving abilities yet nearly one-third avoided initiating the conversation.

According to AARP, members of the Baby Boom generation will be turning 65 at a rate of 8,000 per day until 2030. Soon, one in four drivers will be over 65.

If there's a senior driver in your family, it's never too soon to start the dialogue about giving up the keys. Helpful videos from The Alzheimer’s Association and Liberty Mutual provide specific suggestions of what to say and may help you ease into the conversation.

To my surprise my uncle was more receptive to talking about giving up the keys than I had expected.  If there's a senior driver in your life, start the "tough love" conversation. Don't wait until it’s too late!