[Vision2020] The Most (and Least) Dangerous States for Older Drivers

[Kenneth Marcy]

http://247wallst.com/special-report/2016/07/31/the-most-and-least-dangerous-states-for-older-drivers/ 


The Most (and Least) Dangerous States for Older Drivers

Americans 65 years of age and older are 21% more likely to be killed in 
a traffic accident than the population as a whole. While people of this 
age group account for 14.5% of the total population, they represent 
17.5% of all traffic fatalities.
*
5. Idaho*
*> Traffic fatality risk for elderly vs. total pop.:* 49.6% more likely
*> Traffic fatalities, 65 and older:* 17.0 per 100,000 (11th highest)
*> Traffic fatalities, total pop.:* 11.4 per 100,000 (24th highest)
*> Pct. pop. 85 and older:* 1.6% (tied-11th lowest)

The difference between the likelihood of traffic fatalities among older 
Americans and the entire population varies between states. To determine 
where driving is the most dangerous for seniors, 24/7 Wall St. compared 
traffic fatality data for state residents 65 years and older to that of 
the state’s entire population. The states with the widest gaps in 
fatality rates between these age groups were considered the most 
dangerous states to drive for seniors.

The most dangerous state for older Americans is Rhode Island, where 
seniors are 2.2 times more likely to die in a traffic accident than the 
overall state population. By contrast, seniors in New Mexico are 38% 
less likely than the state’s total population to die in a traffic 
accident, the safest state for seniors in the nation.

*Click here to see the most (and least) dangerous states for older 
drivers. 
<http://247wallst.com/special-report/2016/07/30/the-most-and-least-dangerous-states-for-older-drivers/2/>*

States with the highest overall rates of traffic fatalities — including 
drivers, passengers, cyclists, and pedestrians — are not necessarily the 
states that are the most dangerous for senior drivers. Instead, the most 
dangerous states for Americans 65 and older are states with the highest 
share of residents 85 and older.

Age-related vision and cognitive declines, which worsen with age, can 
impair driving capabilities. However, this is not the main contributor 
to seniors having a higher traffic fatality rate than younger individuals.

The main contributor is the susceptibility of seniors to injury and 
medical complications when involved in an accident. Drivers who are 
80-84 year olds, for example, tend to be involved in the same number of 
accidents as 25-29 year olds. Yet, the 80-84 year old drivers are nearly 
three times as likely to die from those accidents.

Because the risk of dying from an accident increases as a senior ages, 
the share of 85 and older residents is one predictor of a state’s 
elderly car accident death rate. Rhode Island, for example, where 
elderly residents are more than twice as likely as the whole population 
to die in a car accident, is tied for the largest share of residents 85 
and older in the nation. In Alaska, on the other hand, seniors are 
considerably less likely to die in a traffic accident than the total 
population. This may be partially due to the fact that only 0.8% of 
Alaska’s population is 85 and older, the lowest share of any state.

To identify the states where driving is the most dangerous for seniors, 
24/7 Wall St. compared traffic fatality rates for residents 65 and older 
and for the entire state population. Data for these rates are from the 
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and are as of 2014, the 
most current available. Populations by age are from the 2014 American 
Consumer Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau.

http://247wallst.com/special-report/2016/07/31/the-most-and-least-dangerous-states-for-older-drivers/ 



Ken

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