Elderly Drivers Increase Traffic Fatalities

CARMEN D. COSTA

ELDERLY DRIVERS INCREASE TRAFFIC FATALITIES

As winter approaches, many elderly “snowbirds” have returned to Florida to enjoy the mild weather. Because of several “close encounters” with elderly drivers who were driving erratically, the writer wished to discover if those individuals have more accidents than do their younger counterparts. A casual review of the literature shows that older drivers become more crash-prone with age, even though they drive less miles. In addition, because older drivers are more fragile, their fatality rates are 17 times higher than those of 25- to 64-year olds. The problem at hand is the high accident and death rate associated with a large population of elderly drivers.
Last year, a woman sitting in the nail salon, enjoying a refreshing manicure looked up to see a bright red Cadillac coming through the shop window, stopping just short of a startled patron. Fortunately, no one was injured. The newspaper report of ...