For every mile they drive, people age 75 or older are more likely to be seriously injured or killed in an automobile accident than are drivers in any other age group except for teenagers. Contrary to common knowledge, the problem is not that the elderly as a group are involved in appreciably more accidents per mile travelled than are their younger counterparts. Indeed, up to age 75 there generally is no significant decline in the mental and physical abilities needed to drive a car without impeding traffic or endangering public safety. Even beyond that age, they are not appreciably more likely to have an accident. Rather, elderly drivers are simply more fragile. Thus, when involved in an accident, they are more likely to be seriously hurt. The threat that elderly drivers face is mitigated to some extent by a decrease in the miles they drive, to about a third of the miles they compiled when they were middle-aged. But the fact remains: Elderly drivers take a significantly greater risk every time they get behind the wheel. (A)
Abstract