Assisting the older driver - SWOV

Assisting the older driver
the age of 18, the age at which one is allowed to obtain a driving licence in
the Netherlands.
An analysis of the safety of older drivers is not new. Various international
studies are available on this topic (Aizenberg & McKenzie, 1997; Hakamies‐
Blomqvist, 1993, 1994a; Maycock, 1997; McGwin & Brown, 1999; OECD, 2001;
Zhang, Fraser, Lindsay, Clarke, & Mao, 1998). However, the situation in the
Netherlands has never been studied in detail before. Therefore, this chapter
compares the results of an analysis of Dutch crash statistics with conclusions
drawn in other studies on older driver safety. The analysis of Dutch data was
carried out in 1999 (see Davidse, 2000). As a result, crash and injury statistics
represent the situation in the period of 1994‐1998. However, a less detailed
analysis based on data for the period 2001‐2005, which was also carried out
by Davidse, shows that the overall picture has not changed since the late
nineties of the last century (European Road Safety Observatory, 2006). The
conclusions regarding crash involvement and injury rates of older adults are
the same. Data on crashes 2 and injuries used in both analyses were obtained
from the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water
Management. Data on kilometres travelled, the number of driving licences
per age group, and the number of inhabitants were obtained from Statistics
Netherlands. Sources mentioned in the captions of tables and figures of this
chapter relate to the raw data. Calculations were carried out by the author.
1.2. Injury rate: crash involvement and physical
vulnerability
A comparison of the injury rates for different age groups (Figure 1.1) shows
the well‐known U‐shape. Injury rates are high for the youngest group of
drivers, after which they decline to a minimum for drivers aged 40‐59. Then
they increase again, to a maximum for those aged 75 and above. A
comparison of the fatality rates shows the same U‐shape (Figure 1.2).
However, whereas drivers aged 18‐24 have the highest injury rate, those
aged 75 and above have the highest fatality rate.
The cause of this difference between young and older drivers may be found
in the two aspects that underlie the injury rate of a group of road users: their
crash involvement and vulnerability. The crash involvement of a group of
2
Numbers of crashes refer to injury crashes only. Crashes with material damage only (MDO)
are not included in the analyses discussed in this chapter.
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