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Sheriff's Deputy with safety information

By 8:00 a.m., the starting time, we had about 10 cars lined up, and we decided to grab umbrellas to escort the drivers into the comfortable waiting area rather than register them outside. In the waiting area were safety information tables staffed by the DuPage County Sheriff’s Departmen, the Lisle Police Department, AARP Driver Safety Program, Triad, and of course, doughnuts, coffee and lots of other edibles for our seniors.

It all went very well. More cars than I could have imagined kept coming. In total, we had 53 cars at the inspection event. Many were first-time attendees, braving the pouring rains, flooded, closed roads and viaducts to get our unbiased inspection service. Many personally told me their stories of mechanics insisting that expensive repairs were needed. One of the goals of our Triad organization is to prevent scams, upselling, and preying on vulnerable senior citizens, and our attendees appreciate and value our honest opinion about what work might be needed on their vehicles.

Seniors in waiting area

So, Snoopy, it really was a dark and stormy night, and it continued throughout the entire dark and stormy day. I learned later that 7.1 inches of rain had fallen in that 24-hour storm. But thanks to a bunch of MG Club members and several other volunteers, we were able to help a lot of seniors to get their vehicles ready for winter driving. Thanks to everyone for making the Car Care Safety Clinic a very successful event.

~~ Jim Vondran