Key points
- Each day, 25 older adults are killed and over 740 are injured in crashes.
- Drivers aged 70+ have higher crash death rates per 1,000 crashes than middle-aged drivers (aged 35-54).
- Taking key safety steps can help adults of all ages, including older adults, stay safe on the road.
Overview
In 2022, there were almost 52 million licensed drivers ages 65 and older in the United States. This is a 77% increase since 2004.1
Driving helps older adults stay mobile and independent. But the risk of being injured or killed in a traffic crash increases as people age.
Thankfully, older adults can take steps to stay safer on the roads.
Facts
Thousands of older adults are injured or killed in the United States every year in traffic crashes.
In 2022, about 9,100 older adults were killed in traffic crashes, and over 270,000 were treated in emergency departments for crash injuries.2 This means that each day, 25 older adults are killed and over 740 are injured in crashes.
Risk factors
Age, gender, and age-related changes are major risk factors
- Drivers aged 70+ have higher crash death rates per 1,000 crashes than middle-aged drivers (aged 35-54).3 Higher crash death rates among this age group are primarily due to increased vulnerability to injury in a crash.
- Across all age groups, males have substantially higher crash death rates than females.4
- Age-related changes in vision, physical functioning, and the ability to reason and remember, as well as diseases and medications, might affect some older adults' driving abilities.5
Prevention
Key steps to staying safe on the roads
The good news is that older adults are more likely to have safer driving behaviors than other age groups.
Taking these key steps can help adults of all ages, including older adults, stay safe on the road:
Always wear a seat belt as a driver or passenger
Seat belt use is one of the most effective ways to save lives and reduce injuries in crashes.6
Drive when conditions are safest
Drive during daylight and in good weather. Conditions such as poor weather7 and driving at night8 increase the likelihood of crash injuries and deaths.
Don't drink and drive
Drinking and driving increases the risk of being in a crash because alcohol reduces coordination and impairs judgment.
Additional steps to stay safe on the road
- Use CDC's MyMobility Plan, a plan to stay mobile and independent as you age.
- Follow a regular activity program to increase strength and flexibility.
- Ask your doctor or pharmacist to review medicines—both prescription and over-the counter—to reduce side effects and interactions. Read the Medications Can Be Linked to Injuries as We Age fact sheet to learn more.
- Have your eyes checked by an eye doctor at least once a year. Wear glasses and corrective lenses as required.
- Plan your route before you drive.
- Find the safest route with well-lit streets, intersections with left-turn signals, and easy parking.
- Leave a large distance between your car and the car in front of you.
- Avoid distractions in your car, such as listening to a loud radio, talking or texting on your phone, and eating.
- Consider potential alternatives to driving, such as riding with a friend, using ride share services, or taking public transit.
Resources
CDC resources
- CDC's MyMobility Plan
- Still Going Strong Campaign
- NIOSH: Older Drivers in the Workplace: How Employers and Workers Can Prevent Crashes
Additional resources
- AAA: Senior Driver Safety and Mobility
- AARP: Driver Safety
- American Occupational Therapy Association: Driving and Community Mobility
- Clearinghouse for Older Road User Safety (CHORUS)
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: Older Drivers
- Rides In Sight
- University of Michigan, Transportation Research Institute: Driving Decisions Workbook
Publications with more information
- Ortmann N, Haddad YK, Beck L. Special Report from the CDC: Provider knowledge and practices around driving safety and fall prevention screening and recommendations for their older adult patients, DocStyles 2019. Journal of Safety Research 2023 Sep;86:401-408.
- Shakya I, Beck LF, Cordier L, Dugan S, Underwood Y, Bergen G. Special Report from the CDC: Evaluating the dissemination of CDC's MyMobility Plan: Findings and lessons learned. Journal of Safety Research 2024;89:354-360.
- Beck LF, Luo F, West BA. Examining patterns of driving avoidance behaviors among older people using latent class analysis. Journal of Applied Gerontology 2022;41(7):1752-1762.
- Siegfried AL, Bayne A, Beck LF, Freund K. Older adult willingness to use fully autonomous vehicle (FAV) ride sharing. Geriatrics 2021;6(2):47.
- Bayne A, Siegfried A, Beck LF, Freund K. Barriers and facilitators of older adults' use of ride share services. Journal of Transport and Health 2021;21:101055.
- Freund K, Bayne A, Beck, L, Siegfried A, Warren J, Nadel T, Natarajan A. Special report from the CDC: Characteristics of ride share services for older adults in the United States Journal of Safety Research 2020;72:9-19.
- Freund K, Bayne A, Siegfried A, Warren J, Nadel T, Natarajan A, Beck, L. 2019. Environmental scan of ride share services available for older adults [White paper] Chicago; NORC at the University of Chicago.
- Bergen G, West BA, Luo F, Bird DC, Freund K, Fortinsky RH, Staplin L. Special report from the CDC: How do older adult drivers self-regulate? Characteristics of self-regulation classes defined by latent class analysis. Journal of Safety Research 2017; 61: 205-210.
- Bird DC, Freund K, Fortinsky RH, Staplin L, West BA, Bergen G, Downs J. Driving self-regulation and ride service utilization in a multicommunity, multistate sample of U.S. older adults. Traffic Injury Prevention 2017; 18: 267-272.
Content Source:
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
- Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation (US). Highway Statistics 2022. Washington (DC): FHWA; 2024. Accessed 9 October 2024.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). WISQARS — Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; 2024. Accessed 9 October 2024.
- Cox AE and Cicchino JB. Continued trends in older driver crash involvement rates in the United States: Data through 2017–2018. Journal of Safety Research 2021; 77: 288-295.
- Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Fatality Facts 2022: Older people. Arlington (VA): Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Accessed 9 October 2024.
- Pomidor A, ed. Clinician's Guide to Assessing and Counseling Older Drivers, 4th Edition. New York: The American Geriatrics Society; 2019.
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Department of Transportation (US). Traffic Safety Facts: 2022 Data: Occupant Protection (Report No. DOT HS 813 573). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Center for Statistics and Analysis; May 2024.
- Anderson M, Khattak AJ, Farooq MU, Cecava J, Walker C. Research on Weather Conditions and Their Relationship to Crashes. Nebraska Department of Transportation and U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration; December 2020.
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Department of Transportation (US). Traffic Safety Facts Research Note: Passenger vehicle occupant fatalities by day and night- A contrast (Report No. DOT HS 810 637). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Center for Statistics and Analysis; May 2007.