US safety concern

Concern has been raised at the risks faced by older drivers following the publication of a report produced jointly by research group TRIP and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). The report reveals that older drivers are more likely to be killed in intersection crashes than young drivers. Data for 20120 from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that 37% of fatal accidents involving drivers aged 65 and over involved an intersection. B
April 24, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Concern has been raised at the risks faced by older drivers following the publication of a report produced jointly by research group 5196 TRIP and the 3510 American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).

The report reveals that older drivers are more likely to be killed in intersection crashes than young drivers. Data for 20120 from the 2467 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that 37% of fatal accidents involving drivers aged 65 and over involved an intersection. By comparison, only 20% of accidents involving younger drivers occurred at an intersection.

The figures showed that the number of deaths involved drivers aged 65 and above reached 5,750 in 2010, climbing above the 5,288 recorded for 2009. The study also revealed safety issues for older drivers when making left turns.

A separate study by the 5193 University of Kentucky has shown that that older drivers can have problems estimating the speed of oncoming vehicles and difficulty in judging appropriate gaps in oncoming traffic when turning left. Better street lighting, longer merge and exit lanes, as well as brighter and simple road signs could help the older drivers however.

Related Content

  • Road safety of concern in Sweden and Israel
    January 8, 2015
    Worrying data on road safety has been released from Sweden and Israel. Sweden’s record on road safety is one of the best in the world, with a combination of tough enforcement and stiff penalties along with effective driver education and training having helped lower the country’s fatality rate. However the latest official figures from the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) show that 275 people were killed on Swedish roads in 2014, compared with 260 people in 2013. This may yet prove to be a stat
    Read More
  • UK Government must show “much greater leadership” on road safety
    August 20, 2012
    A leading road safety campaigner has urged the UK government to show “much greater leadership” on the issue after new Department for Transport (DfT) figures revealed a rise in pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads. The number of cyclists killed or seriously injured (KSI) on UK roads between April 1 and June 30, 2012 rose 13% to 700, compared to 621 over the same three months of 2011.
    Read More
  • NHTSA data shows 5.3% rise in US road accident deaths in 2012
    May 7, 2013
    An estimated 34,080 people died in road accidents in the United States in 2012, up 5.3% on the year before, according to a new report from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The reported deaths figure is the highest since 2008. In 2012, the US NHTSA said the fatality rate or the number of people killed for every 100 million vehicle miles travelled was 1.16, compared to 1.1 in 2011.
    Read More
  • Road safety concern for the UK
    July 24, 2020
    Road safety concern for the UK with an increase in fatalities.
    Read More

Highlighted Content