More than 40.1 million licensed drivers 65 and older are on American roads
By Claude Solnik
BridgeTower Media Newswires
LONG ISLAND, NY - An accident in which an 80-year-old motorist inadvertently hit the gas rather than the brakes while backing up, killing a woman on Mother's Day, has shined a spotlight on elderly drivers and measures being taken in other states to focus on this group of motorists.
Diane Aluska, 55, was walking with her daughter Jenna in Lindenhurst on Mother's Day on the sidewalk when she was struck by a 2005 Toyota Corolla.
Ann Riolo, 80, told police she inadvertently hit the gas rather than the brakes while backing up, catapulting the car across a sidewalk on South Wellwood Ave. at around 9:10 a.m. on Mother's Day, according to Suffolk County police.
Aluska was hailed as a hero for pushing her daughter out of the way, an action that may have saved her daughter's life.
Riolo and Aluska's daughter Jenna both were hospitalized following the collision, which drew added attention because it occurred on Mother's Day.
No charges have been brought related to the collision, which police have categorized as a tragic accident without placing fault.
But the incident comes as the number of older drivers and the number of fatal accidents with these motorists at the wheel grows both as a percentage and an absolute number.
Statistics and various reports show that older motorists are more likely to be at the wheel of fatal accidents than other groups, prompting many states to impose special measures to monitor older motorists.
"Unfortunately, as people age, driving can become more difficult and more dangerous," according to ElderLawAnswers. com. "The elderly drive less, but have more crashes per mile than younger drivers. This is partially because elderly individuals are more likely to be affected by poor eyesight, chronic disease, and medications that might impair driving."
While many states have additional requirements for elderly drivers, New York has no such specific provisions, putting it at odds with many other states that impose more frequent renewals and other mandates.
Older drivers are becoming a bigger part of the population as the elderly population grows, putting a new spin on the demographics and dangers of driving.
The Insurance Information Institute, for instance, indicates there were 40.1 million licensed drivers age 65 and older in 2015, based on data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The group found that 6,165 people age 65 and older were killed, 18 percent of all fatalities, and 240,000 were injured in traffic crashes in 2015.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that "older drivers have higher rates of fatal crashes, based on miles driven, than any other group except young drivers."
The rate of older drivers' involvement in fatal crashes, including passengers and drivers, has been declining in recent years, which the Institute attributes to improved health and safer vehicles.
"Despite the improvement, older drivers continue to have higher rates of fatal crashes than most other age groups," according to the Institute.
The percent and number of motorists age 65 and older at the wheel of fatal crashes is increasing even as the number of older motorists grows, according to the Institute, according to some data.
The total number of drivers involved in fatal crashes declined from 2006 to 2015 from 57,846 to 48,613, good news for the nation.
But the number of motorists age 65 and older involved in these crashes grew from 5,996 to 6,490 in part as the number of older motorists increased.
The nation's population during that time frame grew from 298 million to 321 million, as the number of people age 65 and older grew from 37.2 million to 47.8 million.
The percent of the population who is 65 and older grew from 12.5 percent to 14.9 percent, making the elderly a bigger portion of those at the wheel.
The percent of the total number of motorists involved in fatal crashes who were 65 and older also grew from 10.4 percent to 13.4 percent.
The rate of older drivers at the wheel in fatal accident outpaces all other categories, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; Federal Highway Administration.
One out of every 2,486 drivers age 74 or older were involved in a fatal collision in 2014, the highest rate of any age group and far higher than young drivers.
That's followed by one out of 2,686 for drivers 65 to 74 and one out of 3,576 for drivers 55 to 64. The rate was only one out of 11,137 for motorists age 16 to 20, one out of 8,373 for motorists age 21 to 24 and one out of 6,238 for motorists age 24 to 34.
Many states have imposed additional restrictions on elderly motorists, designed to monitor them more closely, although New York has not.
"While no state will revoke a driver's license based only on the driver's age, some states put restrictions on license renewals for elderly drivers," according to ElderLawAnswers.com. "Other states do not differentiate based on age, and still others have fewer requirements for older drivers.
Arizona requires drivers age 65 and older to renew their license every five years, more than twice as often as the 12 years for those under age 65, according to ElderLawAnswers.com.
Illinois requires most motorists to renew every four years and motorists age 81 to 86 to renew every two years and every year for those 87 or older, according to ElderLawAnswers.com. Illinois also requires a road test if the driver is 75 years old or older, according to the site.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety counted 19 states and the District of Columbia that require older drivers to renew licenses more frequently than others.
Eighteen states require older motorists to show proof of adequate vision when renewing their licenses. New York requires that proof of all motorists.
Fifteen states and the District of Columbia do not allow older drivers to renew licenses by mail or online, although New York does. Illinois requires drivers age 75 and over to take a road test in order to renew.
The District of Columbia requires a doctor's approval for drivers over the age of 70 to renew their licenses, adding a medical dimension.
New York requires renewals every eight years, the third longest after only Arizona at 12 years and South Carolina at ten years.
Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa and Texas and Vermont are the most aggressive, requiring motorists to renew their license every two years.
Published: Mon, May 22, 2017
