December 3, 2003

The number and severity of crashes involving older drivers in Michigan is declining, according to a just-released study conducted on behalf of the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP). The study looked at crash data from 1998 to 2002 for motorists and pedestrians age 65 and older.

OHSP commissioned the study through the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) as part of an ongoing effort to understand and address the needs of older drivers and identify opportunities to reduce traffic deaths and injuries among this group. By 2030, one out of every five Americans will be over the age of 65.

Among the major findings:

• The number of crashes involving older drivers decreased by 6 percent (However, the proportion of crashes involving older drivers remained relatively constant at about 11 percent through the time period.)
• Fatal and serious injury crashes decreased by 23 percent
• Crashes where an older driver had been drinking decreased by 23 percent
• The number of older pedestrians killed or injured in crashes decreased by 29 percent

"These findings are encouraging," said Michael L. Prince, OHSP division director. "We will be looking more closely to determine the factors that led to these decreases."

According to the UMTRI report, older drivers have a higher likelihood of being in a single-vehicle crash without any overt hazardous action than younger drivers. Failure to yield, and to some extent failure to obey traffic control, are more likely among older drivers than among younger drivers.

The report also found that safety belt use among crash-involved older drivers is extremely high, over 90 percent. About 70 percent of the nonuser drivers were men. Among those men, the largest proportion of nonusers were in the 70-74 age group.