Aging of the United States population has a potentially adverse effect on highway safety. A key question is whether the known deterioration of driving skills with aging will be compensated by other factors. especailly improved learning and attitudinal experiences of more recent cohorts. The effects of driver age, cohort, and gender on accident proneness is investigated and the effects of year, location, and lighting evaluated. The accident propensity of different groups of drivers is measured, using a database of two-vehicle accidents, by the ratio of the number of at-fault drivers of a specific group to the corresponding number of not-at-fault drivers. Logistic regression modelling determines the statistical significance of the findings.
Abstract