"Getting Around--Alternatives for Seniors Who No Longer Drive", features host Jerry Mathers, star of the original "Leave It to Beaver" TV series.

The program tackles the challenge of developing mobility options and helping older, at-risk drivers plan for and transition to life-after-driving.

Santa Monica, CA -- Site of the 2003 Farmer's Market tragedy in which a confused 82-year old driver slammed on the gas pedal instead of the brake as he careened through a crowded open-air produce market, killing ten and injuring scores more. In response to this tragedy, Monika White, CEO of the Santa Monica-based, non-profit Center for Healthy Aging enlisted the award-winning documentary film company Wiland-Bell Productions in a national effort to educate Americans about planning for the day when driving is no longer feasible.

The documentary, "Getting Around: Alternatives for Seniors Who No Longer Drive" is one outgrowth of that effort. Focusing on the mobility needs of our nation's elders, this 30-minute program chronicles the challenges that older drivers and their families face in a society so wedded to the car. As the baby boom generation nears retirement age, the number of older drivers on our roads will more than double, increasing the urgency for action on this issue. Despite the formidable length of time required to create major transportation system improvements, society is just beginning to recognize the pressing need to create alternatives to the car for those who can no longer drive.

"Getting Around" harnesses the sorrow of the Santa Monica Farmer's Market tragedy to drive an exploration of each stake holder's perspective--elder drivers, family and friends of elder drivers, physicians, licensing officials, and John Q. Public. It profiles families that tried to initiate early dialog with their elders about not driving before it became risky. Interviews with older drivers, spouses and adult children in Los Angeles and Sheridan, Wyoming, along with clips featuring John Cleese in the comedy short "Taking the Wheel," demonstrate how difficult it can be to get an older relative to stop driving, despite "red flags" of decreased ability. The film explores why physicians may be reluctant to intervene, despite family pleas, and the tools and training they need to become truly proactive on this issue. Commentary from Dr. Niethammer of Sheridan, Wyoming, †Dr. Andrea Fox, of the Pittsburgh VA, and Dr. Lawrence Rubenstein, Director of Geriatric Research, Education & Clinical Center in Los Angeles provide insight.

Most importantly, "Getting Around" showcases best practice models and activists for alternatives to the car such as the innovative Portland, Maine-based Independent Transportation Network, soon to be piloted in Los Angeles in collaboration with Center for Healthy Aging; TRIP, the Riverside County, California "friendly volunteer" ride service, and 80 yr. old Lolly Mann, a public transportation activist who advocates tirelessly for more senior-friendly bus stops, shelters and routes. Also featured is the busy van service operated by the Sheridan Senior Center, in rural Wyoming where no other public transportation exists; and Phoenix, Arizona, where citizens passed a 1/2 percent sales tax to fund major public transportation improvements and expand access van service.

As baby boomers move into their golden years, the task of monitoring the functional and cognitive abilities of older drivers will overwhelm cash-strapped state licensing agencies--the DMV's. Pennsylvania's DMV Director Rebecca Bickley; New Hampshire DMV Director Virginia Beecher, and the Director of Maryland DMV's Medical Advisory Board, Dr. Robert Raleigh offer possible solutions to the challenge of identifying at-risk drivers while sparing the competent ones. Maryland's system of functional capacity testing (FCT) offers a best practice model for other states to consider.

"Getting Around" searches for long-term solutions that demonstrate how communities can take maximum advantage of the current transportation infrastructure, improve it, and develop alternatives to the car.

"Getting Around: Alternatives for Seniors Who No Longer Drive," will be offered to PBS stations in January 2007. Wiland-Bell Productions hopes that stations will schedule the program broadcast in April prior to Older Americans Month. Broadcast dates and times will vary.

Major funding is provided by The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety of Washington, D.C. Additional funding is provided by by Evercare Solutions for Caregivers and by the Mark Taper Foundation of Los Angeles.

CONTACT:
Dale Bell, Executive Producer, Wiland-Bell Productions, 310-828-2966
dale@wilandbellprod.com 

"TAKING THE WHEEL"
Starring John Cleese and Patience Cleveland
Written & Directed by David Ackerman
Music by Elmer Bernstein
http://www.takingthewheel-themovie.com