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Barnstable, Massachusetts
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August 18, 2006     Barnstable Patriot
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August 18, 2006
 
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3£ Barnstable S TRIAD By Klaus Guttmann klausguttmann@comcast.net We are driving along Route 28, 132 or any of the town's crowded streets. The traffic is slow. There is a long line ahead of us. Then it conies to a crawl and stops completely. Wehave to move over to the right. There are police cruisers and an ambulance , sirens blaring and lights flashing trying to get by us. Finally, traffic starts to move again. We are coming upon a hor- rible scene. There are cars smashed up. There are police cruisers with their blue lights flash- ing and patrolmen trying to direct traffic. Firemen are spreading foam onto gasoline that had leaked to the ground. People are standing around , watching injured persons be- ing loaded into ambulances. Does this sound famil- iar to us? One of the most important things is yet to come. After the ambulances have left for the hospital, the Barnstable Police Traffic Di- vision Collision Reconstruc- tion Teamisbeginningitsjob. They are taking pictures of the wrecked vehicles. They are measuring skid marks. They are checking the tires of the vehicles involved and looking for obvious me- chanical defects. Bystanders and those involved in the accident are asked for their observations ofthisevent.Ev- Awrul things are happening. Why, what can we do? erythingis carefully noted for possible future litigation. When accidents like this happen , there is always a reason. It could be human er- ror. It could be the condition of the road, the vehicles in- volved,the weather and many other factors. The collision reconstruction team takes note of allthese components. This information may lead to future road improvements, traffic signals and better signs. What can we as senior citi- zens oftheTownofBarnstable do? We canlearn how to avoid some of these common errors leading to accidents. Who is most capable to teach us about what to do and what not to do? Who can tell us about the hazards of our roads and highways and how to avoid them? TRIAD believes that the Traffic divi- sion of the Barnstable Police Department is most com- petent for this task. If you have to drive after dark, they recommend; • Make sure you always wear your glasses and that they are a current prescrip- tion. If you lose or break your glasses, don't rely on an old pair;replace them right away with your newest prescrip- tion. Avoid eye wear with side pieces that may block your vision. • Do not wear sunglasses or tinted lenses at night.This reduces the amount of light that reaches your eyes and makes driving much more hazardous. Don't darken or tint your car windows. Avoid driving at dawn, dusk and night. If you are extremely light-sensitive, check with your eye doctor to see if it can be corrected. • Keep your windshield , mirrors and headlights clean, and make sure your headlight aim is checked when your car is inspected. Choose a car with larger dials and easy-to-read symbols. Turn brightness up on the instru- ment panel. • Sit high enough in your seat so that you can see the road for at least 10feet infront of your car. This will make a big difference in reducing the amount of glare you experi- ence from opposing head- lightsat night.Use acushionif your car seatscan't be raised. Also, look to the lower right side of the road when there is oncoming traffic. Of course, always buckle up. Some ve- hicles have rearview mirrors that automatically filter out glare; you might find this feature beneficial, especially for night time driving. • If you are 60 or older, see an eye doctor every year to check for cataracts , glau- coma, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and other conditions associated with aging. This advice will surely help to keep you out of the situa- tion mentioned above. • You can also observe and memorize the accident reports on radio, television and in the papers. They will give you the location and the cause of the accident. For your safety, try to avoid both of these. Your c o m m e n t s ; klausguttmann @comcast. net Movie madness at the senior center Beat the heat every weekday in August at the Barnstable Senior Center, where free movies may be viewed in air-conditioned comfort at 10a.m., noon and 2 p.m.Ifyou callatleast aday ahead, you can have lunch there, too. Call Elder Ser- vices at 790-1462 to sign up for lunch -but don't callthe Senior Center for the movie schedule. They're making it up as they go along. Prescription Advantage to hold open enrollment Prescription Advantage, the state's pharmacy assis- tance program, will hold an open enrollment from Sept. 15 to Nov. 15 for Massachu- setts seniors. The program, offered through the Execu- tive Office of Elder Affairs, helpslowerprescription drug costsfor manyseniorsandin- dividualswith disabilities. The new Medicare Part D prescription drug program, which began in January, benefited many seniorswith savings to their prescrip- tion drug costs. However, even with these savings, seniors may still have high out-of-pocket costs or find themselves in the "donut hole"ofcoverage soonerthan expected. Medicare Part Dpremiums inMassachusettsrangefrom $7.32to $65.58per month,de- pending on the plan chosen. Many also have deductibles up to $250 a year. Beyond thosecosts,there are drugco- payments.Individualswhose total drugcostsreach$2,250, the so-calleddonut hole,will pay 100 percent of the drug costs until their total drug costs have reached $5,100. AsasecondarypayertoPart D, Prescription Advantage 'wraps around' or supple- ments Medicare drug plans by helping to pay for co-pay- ments,deductibles and other coverage gaps. Unlike other supplementalplans,Prescrip- tion Advantage requires no monthly premium and the plan limits annual out-of- pocket expenditures for the amountmemberspaytowards their prescription drugs. Individuals with limited income may also be eligible to receive help paying for their Medicare Part D plan premiums. Individuals who are not eligible for Medicare can still apply for Prescrip- tion Advantage. For seniors without Medi- care Part D, but who have prescription drug cover- age through an employer or union, Prescription Advan- tagealsoprovidessecondary benefits. In addition,ifan el- der hasnot enrolledinaPart D plan,they are encouraged to stillapplyfor Prescription Advantage,andjoin aPart D plan later in the year. PrescriptionAdvantage,as a secondary payer to Medi- care Part D,can help reduce out-of-pocket costs by: • providing benefits dur- ing coverage gaps, such as deductibles or the donut hole; • lowering co-payment amounts; and • providinganannualout- of-pocket limit. 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