Georgia Injury Law Blog
More Older Drivers Doesn’t Necessarily Mean More Accidents
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has, in the past, warned about a growing population of senior motorists and the implications for highway safety. The agency had published a study nine years ago, expressing its concerns over the heightened risk of accidents with more numbers of elderly motorists on the road.
As it turns out, those concerns may have been completely misplaced. An updated report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows that although there are more numbers of elderly motorists on the roads, they are not necessarily being involved in more numbers of accidents. In fact, there has been a decline in the number of serious/fatal accidents involving elderly drivers over the past decade.
There are more elderly drivers on the roads, but crash rates involving senior motorists have declined by approximately 37%. In fact, senior drivers seem to become better motorists as they age. The biggest decline in fatal accident rates among senior motorists was seen in drivers aged above 80 – a staggering drop of 47%.
To arrive at these results, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety compared accident rates for a group of elderly motorists, with a control group of motorists aged between 35 and 54. These motorists were selected because they were experienced drivers, but had not yet reached the age where age-related conditions could impact their driving abilities. The study however found that the elderly motorists did far better than the younger drivers.
So, what has caused this welcome, but puzzling decline, in senior citizen-related accidents and fatalities? Safer cars seem to have had a lot to do with this. In fact, senior citizens seem to benefit more from auto safety technologies. Besides, old motorists now are healthier than they used to be a couple of decades ago. When you see or hear better, you’re less likely to be involved in an accident.
The Atlanta car accident lawyers at the Katz Personal Injury Lawyers represent injured victims of auto and truck accidents in the metro Atlanta area and across Georgia.