Elderly drivers, which are one of the fastest growing segments of the driving population, have a high accident and fatality rate. Because of this growth and the probability that traffic accidents are linked to medical conditions that are more prevalent among the elderly, there has been renewed interest in state policies and administrative practices for awarding and renewing drivers' licenses. This article discusses variations that are observed across states in law and administrative practice. A longitudinal analysis of data on crashes involving elderly drivers in fifteen states indicates that crash rates are directly related to the length of the renewal cycle for older drivers and inversely related to the stringency of testing at renewal. It is also likely that states requiring physicians to report conditions that would impair driving will experience lower crash rates. Due to inaccuracies in the data, results from a secondary analysis of policy impacts on licensing rates were inconclusive.
Abstract