Health
As age increases, so does car-crash risk
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted March 8, 2004
The risk of dying in a car crash increases significantly as a person ages, according to a report issued by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety last month. According to the Older Driver Involvement in Injury Crashes report, those older than 65 are twice as likely to die in a crash as those 55 to 64. Those older than 75 are more than two times as likely and those older than 85 are four times as likely to die in a car crash.
Researchers at the Texas Transportation Institute in College Station analyzed 25 years worth of crash data from that state on behalf of the foundation. Although the data was only from one state, authors of the report believe that it is generalizable to the rest of the country and that older drivers be periodically assessed by themselves, their caregivers and their physicians to determine if they are safe to drive.
"Second only to teen drivers, older drivers are the second most likely group to sustain injuries or death in traffic crashes," said Peter Kissinger, president of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. "It is vital that seniors periodically and honestly review their driving performance."
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/03/08/hlbf0308.htm.
