Accident rates improving among older US drivers
Print Edition
Safety researchers expressed concern a decade ago that traffic accidents would increase as the aging US population swelled the number of older drivers on the road. Now, they say they’ve been proved wrong.
Today’s drivers aged 70 and older are less likely to be involved in crashes than previous generations, and less likely to be killed or seriously hurt if they do crash, according to a study released yesterday by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
That’s because vehicles are getting safer and seniors are generally getting healthier, the institute said.
Traffic fatalities overall in the US have declined to levels not seen since the late 1940s, and accident rates have come down for other drivers as well.
But since 1997, older drivers have enjoyed bigger declines than middle-aged drivers — defined as aged 35 to 54.
From 1997 to 2012, fatal crash rates per licensed driver fell 42 percent for older drivers and 30 percent for middle-aged ones.
For miles traveled, fatalities fell 39 percent for older drivers and 26 percent for middle-aged ones from 1995 to 2008.
“This should help ease fears that aging baby boomers are a safety threat,” said Anne McCartt, the institute’s senior vice president for research and co-author of the study.
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