Prime Time

POSTED: Monday, May. 18, 2009

Freedom from cars ... Giving up your vehicle can save money, feel liberating

Name: Louella McKeever.

Age: 87.

Residence: Bellingham, since 2003.

Children: Four daughters.

Grandchildren: "Let me check. I have it all written down here," McKeever says. "I have four grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and one great-great-granddaughter."

Turning point: Two years ago, McKeever decided she was "finished with driving" after she made a left-hand turn and rolled the back wheel of her vehicle over the curb. "No one ever mentioned me not driving, because I have always liked it," she says. "But I ran across the corner of the curb, just bumped up and bumped down, and that was it."

What to do with your vehicle: "Give your car away," McKeever says. "It felt great to give it to my youngest daughter. She was the one that actually happened to need it, not me."

On life without a car: After giving up her car, McKeever says she "didn't think much more about it." She immediately began taking the city bus and WTA Specialized Transport.

Freedom of being car-free: McKeever says taking the bus increased her connectedness to the community, while removing some of the stresses associated with driving. "I never get lonely or bored taking the bus, and I don't have to pay for gas or car insurance. I don't struggle with parallel parking."

Bus tips: "Take the weather into consideration," she says. "Be sure to have the right kind of clothing and to not get caught out in the cold without a sweater." McKeever also carries an energy bar or something to "nibble on," in case she can't eat or has to fast before routine lab tests on a visit to the doctor.

Crossing busy intersections: "I don't like to cross busy streets," she says. "I do a loop with the bus so I can get off on my side of the road."

Taxi tips: McKeever says taxis can be expensive, especially for senior citizens living on fixed incomes. "But I always carry taxi money, because if I am in the store and I have bought quite a few things and don't feel well, I might not want to wait for the bus."

More freedom: "I didn't have any challenges on the bus," she says. "I can go anyplace I want to, and if you are 80 years old or more, you can go for free."

Waiting for the bus: "I don't mind waiting. What do I got, but time?" she says. "But I don't think I have waited more than a half hour."

Family ties: McKeever says family members should "just call their loved one once in a while to check if they need something." To start her week, McKeever says she typically calls her daughter on Mondays. "We make driving appointments together. We are very open with one another, and if she can't do it, she says so. I'll figure out another way to get where I need to go."

Favorite car: "We always owned Studebakers, at least until they stopped making them," McKeever says. "But I loved the little Volkswagen Bug I drove for three or four years in the '70s."

Fondest driving memory: During the 1970s, McKeever and her late husband took a two-week road trip to visit their friends on the Navajo reservation in Arizona and Utah. "We fixed the Bronco so we could sleep in it," she says. "I didn't want to sleep on the ground because of the rattlesnakes."

Solo travels: "In the summer of 1972 I drove 17,000 miles alone. Montana. Idaho. Utah. Colorado. I was just driving."

Why seniors shouldn't drive: Seniors are "slower thinkers" and don't react as fast as other drivers on the road, and are typically not aware of the mistakes they are making, McKeever says. "You can't go down a four-lane highway thinking two of them are all yours."

Drivers today: "I guess young people seem to be good drivers, but they all go so fast. That is puzzling to older drivers."

Advice to seniors still driving: "Stay off the freeway. I don't think that is a place for elderly people. Just because your car goes that fast, doesn't mean you should."

On road rage: "Everyone says they are a good driver, but I think these people need some counseling," she says. "They probably are acting that way outside of the car, too."

Pet peeve: "People who do not wear hearing aids and glasses if they need them. I get so tired of repeating myself."

Lindsay Hamsik is a Bellingham freelance writer.