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Western New England University to Offer Free CarFit Event on July 7

SPRINGFIELD, MA (07/02/2022) The Western New England University Department of Occupational Therapy is pleased to present CarFit on Thursday, July 7 from 1:00 -3:00 p.m. in the Blake Law Center Parking Lot. This is a free event and is open to the public.

“Research suggests that older drivers are among the safest drivers,” according to AAA. “They are more likely to wear their seatbelts, and less likely to speed or drink and drive. However, as people age, they are more likely to suffer serious injury or risk death in a crash due to greater fragility and aging bodies.”

CarFit is a community-based educational program created by AAA, AARP, and the American Occupational Therapy Association. A CarFit check is a quick and comprehensive 12-step check for all ages, but mostly for senior citizens, to adjust their vehicle for their driving needs.

“With age, comes physical changes such as arthritis and decreased vision. These changes can make safe driving especially challenging for seniors. That’s why at AAA we are committed to educating seniors on how they can adjust and interact with their vehicle in ways that optimize comfort and safety.”

With one-on-one attention, CarFit technicians can quickly and gently identify a driver’s fit behind the wheel and explain adjustments that will give them a better and safer fit with their vehicle. Technicians make sure mirrors are adjusted right, seatbelts are over chest and shoulders, and head restraints are properly positioned in cases of collisions, and more.

The American Occupational Therapy Association, the governing body for occupational therapy practitioners, notes: “Because occupational therapy focuses on enabling participation, we are the natural professionals to address driving and community mobility across the lifespan. As occupational therapy practitioners, we have the science-based knowledge to understand [different] conditions and life changes that can affect driving and driving risk.”

Western New England University (WNE) is a private, nationally ranked, comprehensive institution with a focus on preparing work-ready and world-ready graduates. Founded in 1919 in Springfield, Massachusetts as a division of Northeastern College, WNE’s 215-acre suburban campus serves more than 3,700 students, including over 2,500 full-time undergraduates. More than 47,000 alumni have earned degrees through its 90+ undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs at Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, Engineering, and Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and School of Law. Students come from 39 U.S. states and territories and 23 countries. Of 45,104 living alumni, 30% remain within the region, residing in the four Western Massachusetts counties and northern Connecticut.

WNE is classified among nationally ranked universities in US News and World Report, and among the Top 100 Undergraduate Engineering programs, and in the Doctoral/Professional Universities category in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.