Projecting Fatalities in Crashes Involving Older Drivers, 2000-2025
Projecting Fatalities in Crashes Involving Older Drivers, 2000-2025
Projecting Fatalities in Crashes Involving Older Drivers, 2000-2025
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Number of Licenses (thousands)<br />
100<br />
80<br />
60<br />
40<br />
20<br />
0<br />
Licensed <strong>Drivers</strong> by Gender and Age Group<br />
1963<br />
1965<br />
1967<br />
1969<br />
1971<br />
1973<br />
1975<br />
1977<br />
1979<br />
Year<br />
1981<br />
1983<br />
1985<br />
1987<br />
1989<br />
1991<br />
1993<br />
1995<br />
Total males<br />
Total females<br />
Males, 65-69<br />
Females, 65-69<br />
Males 70+<br />
Females, 70+<br />
Source: Highway Statistics Summary<br />
to 1995, Table DL-220<br />
Figure 3.5. Licensed <strong>Drivers</strong> by Gender and Age Group, 1963-1995.<br />
When Fields and Valt<strong>in</strong>son contacted the Departments of Motor Vehicles <strong>in</strong> all 50<br />
states to ascerta<strong>in</strong> state policies for licens<strong>in</strong>g the elder driver, they found that there was no<br />
uniformity across the states. Some states require renewal <strong>in</strong> person after a certa<strong>in</strong> age, as<br />
well as a vision test and a road test. Other states require no tests of ability and have<br />
lengthened the time <strong>in</strong>tervals between renewals. In some states, doctors are required to<br />
report unsafe drivers to the state; other states require the physician to get the patient’s<br />
written permission before report<strong>in</strong>g a physical impairment (Fields and Valt<strong>in</strong>son, 1998).<br />
Some <strong>in</strong>dividuals, particularly among the elderly, obta<strong>in</strong> drivers licenses even<br />
though they may not <strong>in</strong>tend to drive a vehicle. Reasons for obta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g a license <strong>in</strong>clude<br />
identification, “status,” or just <strong>in</strong> case it might be needed. In addition, states may not purge<br />
their data sets to account for licensees mov<strong>in</strong>g out of state or dy<strong>in</strong>g. Therefore, the<br />
number of drivers licenses issued is not a valid measure of the actual number of drivers.<br />
Eberhard (1996) compared numbers of drivers licenses issued, accord<strong>in</strong>g to Federal<br />
Highway Adm<strong>in</strong>istration (FHWA) historical data for 1993, with survey data from the 1993<br />
GM Project G.6 3 - 18 October <strong>2000</strong>