ZELIENOPLE — For many senior citizens, driving becomes increasingly problematic with age.

That is one reason why Seniors for Safe Driving, a program based in Butler, offers courses for people who are age 55 and older to help them be safe drivers.

At a course taught Monday at the Passavant Retirement Community, instructor P.K. Little covered topics ranging from growing old and driving while tired to wearing seat belts and buying a new vehicle.

Little, a retired science teacher and a certified driver’s education teacher, said that being experienced and being safe aren’t necessarily the same thing.

“They’re all experienced drivers, and they think they know what they are doing, but they don’t,” he said.

One incentive for someone to take the class is to get a 5 percent discount on vehicle insurance for three years.

Toni Baldwin of Zelienople said she signed up for the class to make sure she was being safe.

“It sounded like a good refresher, to see if I’m doing things correctly,” she said.

Little told class members if they want to learn the basic rules of the road, they should get a Pennsylvania Driver’s Manual, which is distributed by the state Department of Transportation.

But his course focused on issues faced by older drivers and advice on how to be safe on a daily basis.

A tough issue many seniors face is deciding when to give up their driving privileges.

“It’s hard to give up your independence, but if you live long enough, at some point you will become dangerous,” Little said.

In Pennsylvania the only way the government can take away a license due to age is if a person fails his eye test. Usually the onus falls on the driver or his family to decide when a person should stop driving.

At that point some people opt to move to a retirement community or to a city where they can use public transportation, he said.

Even seniors who are in good physical shape and who are alert and responsible on the road are at a disadvantage when they get older, Little said.

That is because starting at age 40 most people start to lose muscle mass. This includes the muscles in the eyes that help the pupils contract and adjust to changes in light, he said.

This means the sight adjustment period for older people driving at night is longer and many older people are wise to avoid driving after dark when possible.

Another safety issue faced by drivers of any age is driving while tired.

“Driving tired is one of the most dangerous things you can do,” Little said.

If a driver is tired and thinks he might fall asleep at the wheel, the best action is to stop and take a nap or let someone else drive, he said.

Getting coffee or driving with the windows down may help, but those methods won’t work forever.

“It doesn’t matter what you are doing; if you are tired, your body will find a way to go to sleep sooner or later,” he said.

There are a number of factors that could make someone tired including diabetes, sleep deprivation and dehydration. The best way to combat these things is by exercising, eating a healthy diet and drinking plenty of water, he said.

Tractor-trailer drivers sometimes struggle with falling asleep at the wheel. So when on the highway, a driver is smart to either pass or stay behind trucks and avoid driving next to them for any long period of time, he said.

In Pennsylvania, state law only requires the driver and front seat passengers to wear seat belts, but they should be worn by all passengers and even by pets, Little said.

Cats and dogs should either be strapped into a safety harness or kept in a pet carrier, and children should sit in a safety seat properly secured, and when young facing the rear window, he said.

Just because someone is sitting in the back seat of a car, doesn’t mean he will be safe in a collision.

For information about the safety classes, visit seniorsforsafedriving.com.