Edgar kast gives seniors in the district of bad kissingen safety on the road

Whoever experiences edgar kast at one of his rollator courses will understand that these are not a compulsory task for the retired police officer and traffic educator. With the passion and enthusiasm he used to put into traffic education for schoolchildren, he now passes on his knowledge about the safe use of rollators. His idea is in demand. He now holds around 15 courses a year and has long been on the road as a lecturer and course leader, and not just in the district of bad kissingen. As is certainly often the case, kast will be performing this afternoon at the "haus der familie" senior citizens’ home in windheim asked about his activity. "You probably need this?" Asks one of the guests jokingly. Edgar kast smiles and answers his counterpart: "a little bit already."

Twice this year, the local CSU association of munnerstadt has already booked the traffic educator for a scooter course. Once kast was in a retirement home in munnerstadt, now he is in the family home in windheim. Most of the listeners are residents of the house. Thorsten harnus, local chairman of the munnerstadt CSU, thinks that the course would be just the thing for relatives who are perhaps about to make the decision to buy such a walking aid for their husband or parents.

In fact, in the theoretical part, the listeners not only learn about safe walking with the device, but also about the fact that a rollator can be prescribed by the family doctor even without a care level. For edgar kast, the rollator has become a "symbol for a better quality of life" become.

Rehab technician matthias albert is also on the course. The listeners’ rollators, which are lined up in a row, are also inspected on this occasion. Thousands of people a year now pass through his hands, says matthias albert. Because walking with a rollator has finally escaped the taboo zone. Ten years ago, this was not yet the case. Now the relatives also come and ask for advice.

"Simply ingenious rita schmitt, a member of the munnerstadt city council, finds her rollator the same way. She is also in the course, let her device briefly check through. Ten years ago, after a traffic accident, she refused to use this walking aid. The 62-year-old has been using the rollator for some time now and no longer wants to do without it.

The manufacturers have adjusted to the fact that the rollator is no longer a niche product. What doesn’t roll across the streets as a cash register rollator can be fashionably designed. Color is in now, says matthias albert, showing a ladies’ model with a pink frame. The design of the lockable bag, which replaces the basket in the fancy models, is a perfect match.

While matthias albert checks the rollators, edgar kast tells the seniors that even the best rollator is of no use if the hand brakes are defective or the wheels are worn out. This happens again and again, shows edgar kast on the basis of brought photos. Regular checks are urgently needed, confirms the senior manager of the family home, gerti martin-schnapp. Otherwise there would be accidents and falls.

And of course edgar kast also sets up the course he brought with him. Practical training is part of every course. Most often this happens in the open. In the family home, the hallway must also be functional. Many residents are very old and often only have the strength to make short journeys with the rollator. Here kast is in his element again. It shows little tricks that no longer turn curbs and thresholds into major obstacles. He advises the seniors to be careful even on the sidewalk: "we have to watch out for the young ones, says kast, alluding to the fact that young people often look more at their cell phones than their way, but also to the fact that bicycling on fubgangerweg has recently been made permissible not only for small children, but for their parents as well.

Once a traffic educator, always a traffic educator. This is certainly the case for edgar kast. So it’s no surprise that he is also in charge of a second senior project for the traffic police. The senior driving lesson has been offered for several years now. In the meantime, it is being accepted better and better, so well in fact that edgar kast has even designed a gift voucher so that such a driving lesson can also be given as a present. The traffic police cooperates with three driving schools in bad kissingen and supports the driving lesson with 25 euros. The good response of the seniors to such a lesson gives him the certainty that the initiative was right.