Seniors safer on the road than young bloods!

Researchers at the Rand Institute for Civil Justice have found that young drivers between 15 and 24 years old are three times as likely to cause car accidents as people over the age of 65.

The researchers say seniors make up 15 percent of drivers but were responsible for only 7 percent of the 330,000 fatal two-car crashes in the past 25 years, while drivers up to age 24 represented 13 percent of drivers, but caused 43 percent of the accidents across the United States.

They say the findings contradict policies that make it harder for older drivers to renew their licenses and is contrary to the widespread public concern about the safety of older drivers and that they are less cautious mainly because of their declining cognitive abilities.

David Loughran, an economist at RAND who worked on the study says over the last two decades more stringent licensing policies have been imposed on seniors but in fact older drivers are no more at risk of accidents which questions such policies.

The researchers say the deterioration in vision and slower reflexes that accompany ageing can affect the ability to drive and senior citizens are more vulnerable to serious injury and nearly seven times more likely than other adult drivers to be killed if they do have an accident.

But the findings also suggest that senior citizens are choosing to drive less frequently or to stop altogether and those who do drive often play it safe by driving in daylight and avoiding dangerous conditions.

Some states require older drivers to take road tests and others require them to take vision tests or renew their licenses in person.

Loughran says the research suggests that relatively few older drivers need to be legally prohibited from driving so they pose a relatively small risk to traffic safety overall.

The researchers believe efforts to reduce accidents would be better focused on younger drivers, who drive more frequently and are riskier when they do so.

The study used data from the nearly 330,000 fatal traffic accidents that took place in the US between 1975 and 2003.

The study, "Regulating Older Drivers: Are New Policies Needed?", argues that policy restrictions imposed on older drivers are sometimes excessive.