This traffic safety fact sheet contains statistics on the older USA population for 2002 (including previous years). There are 26 million people aged 70 years and older in the USA. In 2002, this age group made up 9.0% of the total USA resident population, compared with 8.8% in 1992. From 1992 to 2002, the growth rate for this older segment of the population was 27% higher than the growth rate of the total population. There were 19.1 million older licensed drivers in 2001 (2002 data not available), a 32% increase from the number in 1991. In contrast, the total number of licensed drivers increased by only 13% from 1991 to 2001. Older drivers made up 10% of all licensed drivers in 2001, compared with 9% in 1991. In 2002, 154,000 older individuals were injured in traffic crashes, accounting for 5% of all the people injured in traffic crashes during the year. These older individuals made up 12% of all traffic fatalities, 12% of all vehicle occupant fatalities, and 17% of all pedestrian fatalities. Most traffic fatalities involving older drivers in 2002 occurred during the daytime (81%), on weekdays (72%), and involved another vehicle (75%).
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