North Carolina motor vehicle crash data for even-numbered years 1974-1988, inclusive, are analyzed in conjunction with North Carolina population, licensed driver, and mileage data to examine trends inmotor vehicle crash involvement by driver age, sex, and race. Crashrates per licensed driver are presented along with crash rates per estimated vehicle miles travelled calculated on the basis of inducedexposure. Results focus particularly on older drivers. They show that older drivers' representation in the licensed driver population has increased at a greater rate than their representation in either the census or crash involvement populations. These trends are particularly strong for females and for nonwhites. Furthermore, crash rateshave declined more for drivers aged 55 and older than for younger drivers. The greatest declines, both in terms of crashes per licenseddriver and crashes per estimated miles travelled, have been experienced by drivers age 65 and older, particularly nonwhites. Males showhigher overall crash rates per miles travelled than females, but this effect decreases with age and disappears entirely in the oldest age categories. Results are discussed in light of the changing natureof the overall driving population and the cohort of older drivers in particular. (A)
Samenvatting