Older road users fact sheet - Centre for Accident Research and ...

Older road usersAt June 2011, 18.5% of the Queenslandpopulation were senior adults (aged 60+) 1 . It isestimated that by the year 2031, one in fiveQueenslanders will be aged 65 years or older 2 .A consequence of this surge is a dramaticincrease in the numbers of road crashes andfatalities among senior adults, especiallypedestrians.THE FACTS• All older road users, whetherpedestrians, drivers, riders or passengers,share natural declines in functionalcapacities and increased fragilityassociated with ageing, which place themat increased risk duringmobility. Although the risk of beinginvolved in a crash is lower amongstsenior adults in terms of rate perpopulation, the risk of being killed whena crash occurs is much greater, due toincreased fragility as the body ages.• Senior adults are very mobile and arelikely to want to retain their mobility aslong as possible. Therefore, given theageing population of Australia, thedevelopment and implementation ofinitiatives to enhance the safe mobility ofsenior adults is increasingly important.• In 2011, in Australia, 295 fatalities weresenior adults aged 60 years or older,which represented 22.9% of the nationalroad toll. Of these, 107 fatalities involvedadults aged 60-69 (8.3% of the nationalroad toll), while 188 were adults aged 70years or older (14.6% of the national roadtoll) 3 .• Of the 295 senior adults aged 60 years orolder killed on Australian roads in 2011:− 139 (24%) were drivers;− 54 (18.9%) were passengers;− 72 (38.1%) were pedestrians;− 20 (10%) were motorcycle riders; and− 10 (28.6%) were bicyclists.• In 2011, in Queensland, 51 fatalities weresenior adults aged 60 years or older,which represented 19% of the state roadtoll - a 9.9% increase on the previousyear’s toll for this age group, but a 7.3%decrease on the previous five yearaverage. Of those fatally injured in 2011,20 were adults aged 60-69 (7.4% of thestate road toll), while 31 were adultsaged 70 years or older (11.5% of thestate road toll) 3 .• In 2011, compared to the national andQueensland rates of traffic fatalities per100,000 of the population of 5.7 and 5.9respectively, senior adults aged 60-69were less likely to be killed in trafficcrashes (4.9 per 100,000 population).However, senior adults aged 70 years orolder experienced much greater rates ofdeath in traffic crashes (8.7 per 100,000population) 3 .• While young drivers have the highestcrash risk, the relative changes in theproportions of young and older adultpeople of driving age means that, even ifyoung road users remain at a greaterrelative risk of traffic crash involvement,older adult road users are likely toaccount for a greater number roadcrashes in absolute terms by 2056 4 .• Assessment of figures regarding whichroad users are most at fault in trafficcrashes by age reveals a U-shaped curve,with young drivers typically having a highlevel of fault which declines in themature years before increasing againfrom age 60. The most significantincrease occurs amongst senior adultsaged 75 years and older who areconsidered most at fault in 80% ofcrashes in which they are involved 5 .• The nature of fault is different for olderand younger road users. Older drivers areless likely to drink drive, speed or engagein other deliberate risk-taking behaviour,when compared to younger drivers.Instead, crashes where older drivers areconsidered to be most at fault tend to bethe result of poor decision-making or afailure to detect and act on importantinformation 4 .• Common causes of crashes involvingolder drivers include:− failure to see and/or yield to otherroad users;− complex road environments (e.g.,intersections, roundabouts);− sudden illness or blackout;− lack of awareness of trafficsignals; and- low speed manoeuvres

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