Michigan Automobile Accidents: Elderly Drivers

Everyone knows that a majority of the US population is getting older. This means that there will be a lot more older drivers on the roads. There comes an age when a person is incapable of driving on their own. Knowing what age a person should stop driving can be a sensitive issue to bring to the attention of an elderly driver. Skills vary between elderly drivers. As people get older their vision and hearing diminish. Should this cause some concern?

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the number of elderly at fault car accidents causing fatal injuries is increasing. Over a 10 year study, the number of people aged 65 and older grew about 14%.

When looking at the number of people in the US who are licensed to drive, there are fewer elderly people who are licensed to drive when being compared with younger groups. In addition, the elderly drivers who do have licenses drive fewer miles per licensed driver.

Even with these facts, reports show that people aged 65 and over have a higher rate of fatal crashed per mile driven, per 100,000 people, and per licensed driver than any other group except for young drivers.

According to a study done by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, almost half of all fatal crashes involving people aged 80 and older occur at intersections and involve more than one vehicle. Individuals aged 75 and older hold the record for the highest pedestrian deaths per 100,000 people. 82% of crashes involving the elderly occurred during the daytime hours 71% of crashes involving the elderly occurred on weekdays 75% of crashes involving the elderly involved a second vehicle When comparing all age groups, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, reported in a one year study that “older people made up 9 percent of the resident population but accounted for 14 percent of all traffic fatalities and 17 percent of all pedestrian fatalities.”