There has been a long-recognised association between extent of driving and crash involvement: the lower the annual mileage driven, the higher the per-distance crash rate. Because older drivers generally drive less distance per year than others, this association has been used to explain much of their apparent over-involvement in crashes. Several studies from differentcountries around the world have demonstrated this low-mileage bias and the relative safety of older drivers. However all studies have relied uponself-reported crash involvement and driving activity. Staplin et al. [Staplin, L., Gish, K., Joyce, J., 2008. Low mileage bias and related policyimplications cautionary note. Accident Analysis and Prevention 40, 12491252] have drawn attention to the discrepancy between self-reported and odometer-based driving distances and have argued against the credibility ofthe low-mileage bias. This paper has re-worked initial data from an earlystudy which supported low-mileage bias, this time using odometer-based readings rather than self-reported mileage. Accepting the odometer readings at face value, the low-mileage bias remains evident, albeit at a reduced level. (A) Reprinted with permission from Elsevier.
Samenvatting