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Life & Times Transcript

09/14/05

Val Zavala>> Tonight on Life and Times --

It's never easy to tell someone they're too old to drive, but is the DMV unfair to seniors?

Esther Levitt>> I would like to be able to get to the mall. I would like to be able to get to my doctor's office. I feel I'm a safe driver, a good driver, and I really feel that I was victimized by the DMV and the system.

Val Zavala>> And then, is this the stuff dreams are made of? We preview the imaginative work of some of Los Angeles's brightest young filmmakers.

It's all straight ahead on tonight's Life and Times.

Announcer>> Life and Times is made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education.

And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg.

Val Zavala>> When an elderly person loses his or her driver's license, it's almost like being sentenced to house arrest. Well, now a group of seniors in Orange County claim the DMV is depriving them of their licenses. Is it a case of age discrimination? The DMV says no. Orange County reporter, Roger Cooper, went to Leisure World in Laguna Woods to find out.

[Film Clip]

Roger Cooper>> The woman driving this car is a psychotherapist, a gerontologist and just happens herself to be eighty-three years old. As a senior driver, she is also more than a little upset with the California Department of Motor Vehicles. Eileen Goodson is driving again, but only after having her license revoked and fighting the DMV to get it back. She's among a chorus of Orange County seniors lately who allege the DMV has been doing anything to get them off the road.

Here at Leisure World in Laguna Woods, the senior driving issue has boiled over. Angry seniors have formed an organization and they're fighting back. It's called the Senior Driver Advocacy Group and it meets in one of the clubhouses at this giant retirement community.

Carrie Teasdale, M.D.>> It started as a group of Leisure World residents who banded together when they all realized they had had similar bad experiences with the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Roger Cooper>> The people gathered around this table have two things in common. One is their age.

>> I'm eighty-six, shortly to be eighty-seven.

>> I'm eighty-five.

>> I'm eighty-one.

>> I'm eighty-one.

>> I'm eighty-nine.

>> I'm eighty-three years old.

>> I'm eighty-three.

>> I'm seventy.

Roger Cooper>> The other thing they have in common is an encounter with a driving safety office, the arm of the DMV that tests drivers referred there because of traffic stops or medical conditions and determines whether to continue granting a driver's license. The senior group is advised by Carrie Teasdale of Fullerton, a family practice physician who is also an attorney. You've heard a lot of these stories.

Carrie Teasdale, M.D.>> Yes.

Roger Cooper>> What do you think is going on?

Carrie Teasdale, M.D.>> Well, first of all, I don't think this many seniors can be wrong. I think there really is a problem.

Roger Cooper>> In recent weeks, there have been standing-room-only meetings in which seniors sounded off about the DMV's drivers safety offices. They claim the DMV has been practicing age discrimination against seniors, that examiners look for any way they can to flunk older drivers.

Beverly Hershfield>> I think it's deliberate. I think they are deliberately intimidating the seniors.

Pearl Conway>> All they do is look at your age and you're guilty.

Roger Cooper>> What would you say to those allegations?

Steve Haskins>> Well, I would say that they're just, you know, completely untrue and, you know, for one thing, to what end would we do that?

Roger Cooper>> DMV spokesman, Steve Haskins, took our questions by speaker phone in Sacramento.

Steve Haskins>> By law, we don't discriminate against anybody regardless of age. People have to take the same tests at the same office, they have to go through the same process. If these folks at Leisure World are reported for some reason, they go through exactly the same process and procedures that anybody of any age would go through.

Roger Cooper>> Lawrence Blank lost his license after an officer said he'd followed him for three miles trying to get him to pull over. Blank maintains, in fact, he had just driven a hundred fifty yards from his American Legion Post.

Lawrence Blank>> The only thing I can determine is they have to find a reason and they will concoct any reason.

Roger Cooper>> Psychologist Harrison Wiltse says he had to fight for his license after a doctor mistakenly turned him in to the DMV for having sleep apnea.

Harrison Wiltse>> I went to my hearing and it was obvious that I didn't have sleep apnea, so I went home and called in to the DMV for my driver test. I had to take a test. Nothing wrong medically. So when I called for the test, the fellow said, "I'm sorry, you're case is closed. I can't do anything about it."

Roger Cooper>> Wiltse says it took an attorney to get his license back. Esther Levitt lost her license after her car was hit in an intersection, a crash that she insists was not her fault.

Esther Levitt>> One of the bystanders dialed, I guess, 9-1-1 and I heard the answers to obvious questions. "Well, yes, I guess she is elderly. No, I can't tell how old she is. Well, yes, she has gray hair."

Carrie Teasdale, M.D.>> I saw what my parents went through when their driver's licenses were revoked and they were trying to fight a large government bureaucracy that completely discounted anything they said, ignored their letters, ignored the evidence that they produced, refused to give discovery, and this is very common. They just refuse to give people their records, so the seniors left without any records and they can't even go to court.

Roger Cooper>> Any truth in the difficulty in getting their records?

Steve Haskins>> Well, I don't think that we're making any secret of the fact that we've got some fix-it work to do on our end. We've looked at some of our procedures and the way that we treat older folks especially down in this area and we agree. We think that we need to make some changes.

Roger Cooper>> For these people at this age, a trip to the DMV can literally be a life-changing experience. Harold Anderson now gets around using the only mode of transportation he has: the OCTA access bus.

Harold Anderson>> They do not treat people civilly. They do not -- if they don't treat people civilly, they probably don't treat anybody civilly. I think that something should be done about the DMV.

Lawrence Blank>> I had to sell my home. Of course, after a year, I was housebound. I literally felt like I was under house arrest. I couldn't go anywhere. I felt I had to do something and the only alternative I had was to eventually come to Leisure World. It was not my choice.

Esther Levitt>> I don't have my driver's license and I get around Leisure World with my little golf cart, but I would like to be able to get to the mall. I would like to be able to get to my doctor's office.

Audrey Teasdale>> I think the office of safety in Irvine should be thrown out or investigated. They're doing something very, very wrong.

>> I'm a psychologist and I'm very aware of what intimidation does. I know about something called learned helplessness.

Steve Haskins>> We don't answer their questions fully. We're going to try to do that. We're going to try to be, again, a little bit more user-friendly, a little bit more customer-friendly. We're going to try to make sure they understand why they're there, what to expect during the process, what the process is and that type of thing.

Roger Cooper>> Do you feel like you don't get enough respect?

Harold Anderson>> Respect? I don't get any respect. Not from the DMV, not from other people.

Roger Cooper>> There's a tendency in a story like this to think it's just about a group of upset seniors. But a younger Lawrence Blank was once a lead singer at the famed Copacabana Nightclub.

Lawrence Blank>> I came there for one week and they kept me there for three months, the Copacabana in New York City.

Roger Cooper>> Eileen Goodson was once a Twenty Something. A story about seniors? Not really. Because ultimately, at some point in their lives, this will be a story about all of us. At Leisure World in Laguna Woods, I'm Roger Cooper for Life and Times.

Announcer>> Kcet.org is the place to look for the very latest on Life and Times. You'll find previews of upcoming stories, transcripts and audio of past episodes and links to some of our most interesting features. Just go to kcet.org and click on "Life and Times".

Val Zavala>> Power failures, hurricanes, earthquakes. Okay, you're finally going to get that disaster kit together. So what are the most essential items? Well, I got a demonstration from Joyce Harris of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management.

The small town of Paso Robles. Like nearly every place in California, it's near an active earthquake fault and yet when a quake hits --

Newscaster>> "This is definitely one of the most heaviest damaged parts of Paso Robles right here."

Val Zavala>> We are always stunned. Norma Moye was downtown when the 6.5 San Simeon temblor struck Paso Robles in December 2003.

Norma Moye>> You're in shock. You have no idea. You're in total shock. I remember vividly people running this way and running that way. Oh, it just gives me goose bumps to think back.

Val Zavala>> And did Norma have her earthquake kit ready to go? No, and neither did most of the merchants in town. Now that you've been through it, are you more ready? Do you have your water and your batteries and your radio and all the equipment that you --

Norma Moye>> -- I haven't had time (laughter) because I'm working with all the merchants and the shelves back there that I've got to get all that stuff ready, but I haven't done it yet. It's probably a wonderful idea.

Val Zavala>> Okay, Joyce, this is my little place and we'll talk about earthquake kits and what we should have on hand.

Joyce Harris>> Okay, great.

Val Zavala>> Joyce Harris knows earthquake kits inside and out. As you recall, she's with the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management.

Joyce Harris>> The most important item, of course, is emergency drinking water. You can survive for several days without food, but not without water. So that's one of your most important items.

Val Zavala>> Now you'll need more than this.

Joyce Harris>> You'll need more than that (laughter), but that little packet of water has a five-year shelf life and so does the containers like this. They also have the same thing. But you can buy bottled water. Whatever kind you want to get is perfectly fine. We recommend that the quantity that you should have is one gallon per person per day of drinking water.

Your water heater normally contains between thirty to fifty gallons of good water, but if it falls over and breaks, you won't have that water to use. This is very good. You've got your water heater strapped and this is very important because you need to have your water heater strapped so that it won't fall over during the shaking of an earthquake. You also have the flexible hoses up there attached and this is good.

Another thing that I noticed which is good is that you have your smoke detector up here on the wall, which is excellent. Make sure that you change the batteries frequently and that it's operational at all times because that can save your life. A lot of times after an earthquake, a fire will erupt and, if you're upstairs or away from this immediate area, that smoke detector can alarm you that a fire has broken out within the house.

Val Zavala>> Other important things the kit should contain are a first aid kit, a flashlight and extra batteries, and a battery operated radio. Lightsticks are handy. And you should also include duct tape, string, a whistle in case you're trapped somewhere, a can opener, food and a wrench to turn off the gas valve.

Joyce Harris>> If the power is out after an earthquake, as far as your food preparation goes, use the food in your refrigerator first, okay? Then you go to the food inside of your freezer. That's your next source of food to use. And last tip is to use your canned foods as your last resort. Make sure you have a manual can opener because your power will be out after an earthquake (laughter).

Val Zavala>> You might also consider packing any prescription medicines you need.

Joyce Harris>> Another thing to have is an emergency blanket.

Val Zavala>> Now people won't believe this, but this is a blanket.

Joyce Harris>> Yes, it is, and it opens to a full-size blanket. You can use it for heat or for the cold.

Val Zavala>> Now this is a great little gadget.

Joyce Harris>> Oh, yes, it is.

Val Zavala>> Tell people about this.

Joyce Harris>> This is a safety light. The way it works is that you plug it into your outlet and you just leave it there all the time. When an emergency happens or the power goes out, the light comes on and stays on for a few hours and this could be used as a flashlight.

You need to have an out-of-state contact. We call them that because normally what happens is the telephones will go out in the local area, but the phones out of the area will come up first. So if you're separated, each of the persons in your household can call the out-of-town contact, let them know where you are and that you're safe --

Val Zavala>> -- like a check-in point.

Joyce Harris>> Yes, like a check-in point. The payphones will come up before your phones in your house will come up, so you have to have some emergency cash as well to use the payphones.

Val Zavala>> As part of your kit.

Joyce Harris>> Part of your kit should also include emergency cash because banks will be damaged. ATMs will be out, so you have to have emergency cash to buy necessary supplies or whatever you may need.

Val Zavala>> A couple hundred dollars or whatever you can afford, put it in.

Joyce Harris>> Yes, in small bills and some coins to use the payphones.

Val Zavala>> And try not to raid it before the earthquake (laughter).

Joyce Harris>> Right, but if you do, put it back (laughter).

Val Zavala>> Now in Los Angeles, we spend half our life in a car.

Joyce Harris>> That's right.

Val Zavala>> I have actually gotten an earthquake kit for the car and I have my sneakers.

Joyce Harris>> Oh, wonderful. Sturdy shoes in case you have to walk away.

Val Zavala>> Get out and walk and I don't want to be in heels.

Joyce Harris>> Yes.

Val Zavala>> An earthquake kit in the trunk of your car is a smart thing to have. And what if a quake hits while you're driving?

Joyce Harris>> The best thing to do if you're driving is to pull safely to the side of the road and stop because you don't know what the dangers are around you when an earthquake is happening. So the best thing to do is stop. Don't stop under any bridges or overpasses or anything that could fall on the car. Stay in your car. That's the most important thing. Stay in your car until the shaking stops.

Val Zavala>> One of the most dangerous things that can happen is if a live wire or telephone wire or whatever breaks and actually comes in contact with your car, and I'm in it.

Joyce Harris>> Yes.

Val Zavala>> Whatever I should do, I should --

Joyce Harris>> -- you should not get out of the car.

Val Zavala>> Not get out of the car.

Joyce Harris>> Don't open the door. Don't get out of the car. Wait until you can get some help in getting that live wire off your car. If you should try to get out, as soon as you place contact with the ground, you could be electrocuted, so it's very dangerous. Stay inside the car until help arrives for you.

Val Zavala>> There's even more free information about family plans, neighborhood plans, evacuation plans and more from the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management. You can contact them at (213) 974-1166, or go to their website at espfocus.org. Joyce, thank you so much for all the information.

Joyce Harris>> You're welcome.

Val Zavala>> Let's hope everyone takes it to heart.

Joyce Harris>> Yes, we do.

Val Zavala>> Of course, a kit is just the beginning. There's a lot more you should do to be ready for earthquakes. For a more extensive list, you can go to the website of the Los Angeles Fire Department at lafd.org.

Announcer>> To send a comment or a question to our program, you can reach us by mail at this address:

Life and Times
4401 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, California 90027

You can also call our viewer comment line (323) 953-5555) or contact us the fast way by e-mail at kcet.org.

Val Zavala>> They are called student films, but many of them would give professionals a run for their money. Well, now KCET has gathered together the best student films from across film schools of Southern California and we talked with some of these up and coming directors who showed us a sample of their work.

Eli Akira Kaufman>> My name is Eli Akira Kaufman. I'm from UCLA and my film is called "Winning the Peace". It's the story of an Iraqi-American marine who goes back to Baghdad to try to turn and make a difference. I was inspired to make this film by seeing some images of the war in the New York Times and decided that those images deserved a back story. So I hope you enjoy my film.

[Film Clip]

Sean Jiminez>> My name is Sean Jiminez. I'm a character animation student at CalArts and my film is called "Asleep at the Wheel". It's about a guy who falls asleep and magically floats out his window and goes through the city and we get to see what kind of journey that he goes through in the middle of the night.

[Film Clip]

Mark Landsman>> My name is Mark Landsman and the name of my film is "Skylab". I made it when I was a student in the directing program at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. "Skylab" tells the story of a boy in the summer of 1979 who's obsessed with the fact that a space station is going to crash on his house at the exact moment that his mom is getting remarried in the back yard.

It's a semi-autobiographical story. I got the idea because, in 1979, I was about to attend my mom's second wedding and it was at the same time that Skylab which was a space station literally they didn't know where it was going to fall. NASA had no idea and it could have fallen anywhere and I was convinced that it was going to fall in my neighborhood and sort of secretly wished that it might actually land on my mom's fianc� (laughter), so that's how I got the idea.

[Film Clip]

Val Zavala>> And that's our program. I'm Val Zavala. For everyone at Life and Times, thanks for watching. We'll see you tomorrow.

Announcer>> Life and Times was made possible through the generous support of the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of medicine, health, science and education.

And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg.

Sponsored in part by:


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