Safety was in the driver’s seat at Athens’ first CarFit event

By: Noah Cavin
Posted on: Tuesday, June 3, 2025

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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) – TaJiya Stone leans into the window of the driver’s seat.

“We’re gonna make sure everything fits right, is that OK?” she asks.

She checks to see if the driver is sitting 10 inches from the steering wheel, makes sure his seatbelt is secured correctly, and helps him adjust his mirrors.

Then she walks in a straight line alongside his car. “Let me know when you can’t see me,” she says as she checks his blind spots.

These simple steps could save his life.

Stone was one of over 40 volunteers at the Athens County Fairgrounds Saturday afternoon for Athens’ first-ever CarFit.

CarFit was founded by AARP and the American Occupational Therapy Association in 2006 and is designed to improve the safety and comfort of older drivers behind the wheel.

This past Saturday, the event made its way to Athens for the first time.

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, despite being safer drivers, older people are far more likely to be seriously injured or killed in a car crash due to the natural weakening of older bodies.

A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that in 2022, 740 senior citizens were hospitalized – and 25 killed – every day because of car crashes.

CarFit aims to reduce those numbers.

“We do aim the event towards older adults,” said Ohio CarFit Coordinator Emma Strange. “The reason for that is since older adults are some of our most vulnerable road users. We know the older adults are really safe drivers, but we also know that as we all age, our bodies naturally are less able to bounce back from a car accident.”

During CarFit, drivers are positioned safely and comfortably in the drivers’ seat of their own car. Whether it is the positioning of their seat, the angle of their mirrors, or hand positioning on the steering wheel, trained technicians ensure drivers are in the best position they can be in.

On Saturday, the technicians were pre-med students hoping to attend Ohio University’s medical school. And they were all trained that morning.

“Before today, I really didn’t know anything about (CarFit),” said Stone. “But after being certified, I feel like it’s very important, because they’re getting up there in age, and they’re more fragile and can’t really bounce back as we would.”

Christa Myers, transportation planning manager for Buckeye Hills Regional Council, emphasized the importance of being mindful about safety.

“Obviously, the goal is to get people driving safely on the roads, and the cars are made with a lot more safety features now, but you still don’t want to rely just on those safety features because they can malfunction.”

After each driver was fit, they laid into their horn. Every volunteer stopped what they were doing and burst into a thunderous round of applause and cheers as the driver prepared to roll back onto the road.

Three more CarFit events are scheduled this month in southeast Ohio:

• June 13, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., Perry County Fairgrounds, New Lexington
• June 18, 12 p.m. – 2 p.m. Joyce M. Davis Senior Center, Caldwell
• June 21, 1 p.m. – 4 p.m., Marietta Memorial Hospital, Marietta