AARP’s Driver Safety Program classes lack Bicycling

I encourage you to take one of AARP’s Driver Safety Program classes after you read this post.
There are on-line courses, too.  Look in the “AARP Programs” box (left side of screen) for more info.   You’ll want to check out what your local and state AARP Driver Safety Program instructors are teaching about bicycling.  In the last four or five weeks, I’ve suddenly been having a hard time with senior citizen road rage drivers, in their 70s and 80s, telling me that I’m supposed to ride next to the curb.  Their brains were completely closed and inflexible.  Their road rage has been kept to honking and yelling, thankfully.  But, it needs to be checked up on as to why they are all of a sudden doing it and solve the problem.  If they’re doing it to me, they’re probably doing it to other bicyclists.  We have many Americans down on their luck from job losses, etc., who have taken up bicycling for transportation and don’t need to deal with this kind of additional bad treatment.

Your state and national level bicycle advocacy and education organizations need to contact the AARP leaders who can make changes in  the content and emphasis of the national and state curricula.  These classes have captive audiences and many, many drivers who attend these courses.

One of my bicycling-motorist friends might have found the reason for this sudden change.

My friend told me that he was overdue for taking an AARP Driver Safety Program class since his insurance company gives him a discount on his auto insurance.  He said he attended a class 6 to 8 years ago, and the class really didn’t have anything about bicycling in it. He recently retook the class and gave me a review of what happened during the two-day class.

Day one:
The instructor did cover the interaction with bicycles, but it was still considerably lacking. The AARP manual stated: “Bicyclists can legally ride on the roadway, but must remain near the right edge.” Period. The basic AARP textbook had a separate supplement for Florida (to cover cases where state laws may differ slightly), but that shed no light. When my friend objected and said there were some exceptions, citing the situation where the lane is too narrow to safely accommodate both bike and car, the instructor looked at my friend incredulously, then said she would check with a policeman friend.

Earlier in the program, they were all asked to cite some things which are most frustrating to us as motorists.  One man shouted out “bicyclists!” which was received with nods and murmurs of approval from other participants.

Day two:
My friend obtained a couple of very good fliers on our state’s bicycling laws, made copies, and brought them to class. The teacher said she had not been able to speak with her police officer friend. My friend distributed the fliers to the teacher and students and explained about the exceptions to bicycling on the right.  He was met with coldness from the teacher and students.

So now that you have heard one story about one AARP driver class and about my encounters with nasty drivers in their 70s and 80s, feel free to check out what’s happening on the city, county, state, and national level with the AARP Driver Safety Program classes in your area.

Kimberly Cooper, St. Petersburg

Thanks, Kimberly. FBA is taking your advice and will contact AARP on how we can help.