Issue Date: June 14, 2009

Older drivers are safer than you think

Nearly 3 million drivers are at least 85.

The number of elderly drivers is surging, but their increased presence on the road is not a major cause for alarm, statistics show.

More than 20 million of the nation's 202.8 million drivers were 70 or older in 2006, the Federal Highway Administration says. The number of drivers 80 and older is growing at the fastest pace. In 2007, more than 7 million drivers were at least 80, up 52% from 1997.

Despite their increasing numbers, older drivers are involved in far fewer accidents than they were a decade ago. In 2006, 4,035 drivers age 70 and older were in fatal car accidents, which was 16% fewer than in 1997, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Their involvement in injury-causing crashes dropped even more, by 19%.

The drop in accidents among elderly drivers was unexpected, says Anne McCartt, senior vice president for research at IIHS. Traffic experts suspect the reason could be a combination of the elderly driving safer cars, using seat belts more often and generally being healthier than older drivers were in the past, McCartt says.

-- Rochelle Sharpe