WASHINGTON — Experts predicted car-crash rates would soar as America grew older. The reality: Older people are driving more and crashing less, and their fatal-accident rate has dropped by 37 percent.
The biggest drop of all — 47 percent — came among drivers older than 80.
This all emerged in a study released this week by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, an industry group.
The same things that have factored in an overall decline in highway deaths — safer vehicles, safer roads, more seat-belt use and fewer drunken drivers — also applied to those 70 and older, but there had to be more.
The researchers compared the numbers for older drivers with a control group whose members were between ages 35 and 54. The older drivers did far better than the control group.
The drop in fatal accidents among the 70-and- older crowd was 14 percent steeper, and nonfatal crashes were 11 percent lower.
“Issues relating to health must have a role in it, but it’s hard to know just how yet,” said Anne McCartt, co-author of the report. “We believe that there’s been more self-restricting now that there’s a lot more information out there on the subject. It’s also possible that travel patterns for seniors have changed.”
Those 70 and older are expected to grow from 30 million to 67 million in the next 40 years.
