Linda Sanford has spent the last 40 years in the sky as a flight attendant for Delta Airlines.

Since she retired, Sanford has spent a lot more time driving and has become increasingly aware that Miami is one of those cities where ``driving defensively'' is a must.

It is what led her to attend the CarFit program at Baptist Hospital recently, ensuring that her car is fit to drive.

``When you're driving in the country you can go by someone and say, `Hey how are you doing,' but you can't do that in New York City or Miami,'' said Sanford, 60, of Kendall. ``[Drivers] here are crazy.''

CarFit is a national nonprofit program that works with mature drivers to make sure their cars adapt to their aging conditions.

The American Occupational Therapy Association, working with the American Society on Aging and AARP, developed the program, which works like a drive-thru car inspection.

Students from Florida International University, and certified occupational therapists from Baptist Hospital, recently conducted a course.

``I just wanted to see if there was anything I could improve,'' said Andrew Toffoli, 48, of Coral Gables. ``I found out I was doing everything right.''

The students asked drivers about their driving habits, adjusted windows and steering wheels, and reviewed a 12-point checklist.

Some safety tips that CarFit instructors stressed is that the wheel must be 10 inches away from the driver to allow airbags time to deploy and that theseatbelt rests on the collarbone.

``It can be life and death,'' said Isabel Cantor, 23, of Kendall and a second-year occupational therapy student at FIU. ``Things like mirrors, a lot of people haven't been taught how to fix those.''

For Bill Kay, 76, of West Kendall, the issue was entering and exiting the car.

``I wanted to come and see about driving safety, and if they had an easier way for me to get in and out of the car,'' Kay said.

A Baptist occupational therapist recommended a rotating chair for Kay and a handle placed in the door jam to allow for easier access in and out of the car.

FIU assistant professor and occupational therapist Dennis McCarthy has been working on CarFit for five years, mainly at the University of Florida, before coming to FIU last year.

McCarthy uses CarFit as a way to teach students about what the needs of their patients may be one day.

``Older people are the fastest-growing population,'' McCarthy said. ``Whatever seems to help seniors is always helpful to everyone else on the road.''

While CarFit does not evaluate driving skills, anyone who has difficulty with basic driving should get a referral foroccupational therapy treatment through the driving rehab program.

``We have a driving rehab, it's a full driver's course and you go on the road for an hour,'' said Darcie Garcia, occupational therapist at Baptist Hospital.

``It's much harder than the one from the DMV.''

The next CarFit event will be Sept. 25 at Southwest Focal Point Senior Center, 301 NW 103rd Ave. in Pembroke Pines. For information, call 954-745-9567.

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