Wrong-way drivers are mainly drivers of passenger cars. Wrong-way driving crashes are found in all age groups, but elderly drivers are over-represented. To a somewhat lesser extent this also applies to young drivers. Among wrong-way drivers there are relatively many people with mental health problems (possibly partly due to drug use) and people who use wrong-way driving in a suicide attempt. International studies present a similar picture [2] [3] [5] [6] [7] [10] [11].
Gender
The influence of gender is unclear [12]. Some researchers in the United States found that men are over-represented in wrong-way driving crashes (e.g. Zhou et al. In de Verenigde Staten vonden sommige onderzoekers dat mannen oververtegenwoordigd zijn in spookrijongevallen (bijvoorbeeld Zhou et al. [11]; Ponnaluri [13]), other researchers did not (e.g. Lathrop et al., 2010, in Jalayer et al. [12]). In France and the Netherlands respectively, Kemel [10] and Blokpoel & De Niet [3] found no differences between men and women. Scaramuzza & Cavegn [6] on the other hand, found that in Switzerland the chance of a wrong-way driving crash to be 1.5 times greater if the driver is a woman.
Elderly
According to Scaramuzza & Cavegn [6] (Switzerland), the probability of a wrong-way driving crash is more than 7.5 times greater if the driver is older than 65 years. Kemel [10] (France) reports that the chance of a wrong-way driving crash is 15 times greater for drivers of 65 years and older than for drivers under the age of 25. Zhou et al. [11] (United States) found that drivers of 65 years or older on motorways were involved in wrong-way driving crashes three times more often than in other crash types. The Dutch data from the 1990s show that in one in three wrong-way driving crashes that were fatal or resulted in injury the wrong-way driver was 70 years or older [3].
