Some people believe that older drivers pose a large threat to others on the road. While certain high-profile crashes have indeed had tragic outcomes and garnered significant media attention, they do not represent the majority of older drivers. Researchers at the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety help to dispel this common myth about older drivers.
Per mile driven, people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s are among those least likely to crash. • Driversintheir70sgetintoaboutthesamenumberofcrashespermiledrivenasdodriversintheir30s.• Onaverage,driversintheirmid-tolate-80sstillhavelowercrashratespermiledriventhandriversintheir
early20s,androughlyhalfthecrashratesofteenagers.
Teen drivers cause more fatal crashes than do senior drivers.• Driversages65–69havethesamefatalcrashinvolvementrateasdriversintheir30s.• Even75-year-olddrivershavefatalcrashratesequivalenttothoseofdriversintheirlate20s.• Infact,itisnotuntilage85andolderthatdriversbegintoexperiencethehighestrateoffatalcrash
involvementofanyagegroup.
While it is true that older drivers are involved in more fatal crashes in relation to how much they drive, that does not mean that they are the biggest threat to you and me. • Beginningatage65,apatternemergeswitholderdriversthatbecomesmorepronouncedovertime:
theybecomemuchmoreofadangertothemselvesthantoothers(seethechartonreverseside).• Fatalcrashinvolvementratesskyrocketforthoseoverage85becausetheyaremuchmorelikelytodie
whentheydocrash,notbecausetheyposeagreatrisktoothers.• Theprimarydangerfacingolderdriversisfragility,whichreferstotheincreasinginabilityofbonesand
tissueinagingdriverstowithstandinjuryduetoacrash.1
• Comparedtoexperiencedmiddle-ageddrivers,researchhasfoundthat60–95percentofthehigherdeathratespermiledrivenforolderdriverscanbeattributedtofragilitythatmakessurvivingacrashmoredifficult.
• Bycomparison,95percentofthehigherdeathratesfordriversyoungerthan20comparedwithmiddle-ageddriversisduetotheirover-involvementincrashes.2
SAFETY KNOWS NO AGE.
KEY FACTS: OLDER DRIVERS
Eventhougholderadultsareamongthesafestdrivers,thesedatastillrevealadevastatingproblem:olderdriversare,themselves,atgreaterriskontheroads,andtheirsafetyisamajorconcern.
Inthefaceofsuchrisks,olderdriverstendtobeveryresponsible:theyusetheirseatbeltsmorethanyoungerdrivers,theytendtoavoiddrivinginhigher-risksituations(suchasatnightorinrain),andtheyarelesslikelytodrinkanddriveorbeotherwiseimpaired.3
For more information visit SeniorDriving.AAA.com.
References 1. Kent,R.,M.Trowbridge,F.J.Lopez-Valdes,R.H.Ordoyo,andM.Segui-Gomez.“Howmanypeopleareinjuredandkilled
asaresultofaging?Frailty,fragility,andtheelderlyrisk-exposuretradeoffassessedviaarisksaturationmodel.”Annals of Advances in Automotive Medicine(October2009);Volume53,pp.41–50
2. Li,Guohua,ElisaBraver,andLi-HuiChen.“Fragilityversusexcessivecrashinvolvementasdeterminantsofhighdeathratespervehicle-mileoftravelamongolderdrivers.”Accident Analysis and Prevention(March2003);Volume35,Number2,pp. 227–235
3. CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention.Older Adult Drivers: Get the Facts.(LastupdatedMarch14,2011).NationalCenterforInjuryPreventionandControl,CDC.[CitedMarch5,2012].Available:http://www.cdc.gov/Motorvehiclesafety/Older_Adult_Drivers/adult-drivers_factsheet.html
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16- 20- 25- 30- 35- 40- 45- 50- 55- 60- 65- 70- 75- 80- 85-
Drivers themselves killed
Other people killed outside driver’s vehicle*
Driver Age
Dea
th p
er 1
00 M
illio
n M
iles
Dri
ven
Who Do Older Drivers Put in Danger?
Sourcedata:FatalityAnalysisReportingSystem,2008–09;NationalHouseholdTravelSurvey2008–09.
*Occupantsofothervehicles,pedestrians,bicyclists,etc.
KEY FACTS: OLDER DRIVERS
