Differences in accident characteristics among elderly drivers and between elderly and middle-aged drivers.

A total of 5,853 elderly drivers, aged 55 and over, and 8,210 middle-aged drivers 36-50 years old, all of whom were involved in accidents during 1986, were compared using discriminant function and univariate techniques. Substantial differences were found in accident characteristics not only between middle-aged and elderly drivers but also between three different age groups of the elderly. Support was found for the suspicion that, while the elderly have fewer accidents than younger drivers, their safety record, based on driving exposure with noncrash convictions as a surrogate measure of kilometres driven, is worse, and, in addition, they are more often at fault in accident involvements.