2023 SafeTREC Traffic Safety Facts: Older Adult Road Users

Introduction

The older adult population in the United States aged 65 and older is expected to almost double between 2016 and 2060, from 49.2 million to almost 95 million people.  As drivers age, physical and mental changes, including reduced visual acuity, increased fragility, restricted movement, and cognitive impairment, may, directly and indirectly, result in driving impairments.

The Federal Highway Administration’s Safe System Approach recognizes human mistakes and vulnerabilities and designs a system with many redundancies to protect everyone.  Designing streets to limit the impact of kinetic energy transfer in crashes may provide special benefits to older adults, as increased fragility exacerbates the severity of traffic injuries and the likelihood of death.

Analyses presented in this section include fatal and serious injuries to drivers, passengers, bicyclists, pedestrians, and other non-motor vehicle occupants aged 65 and older.

Older Adult Road Users Fatality Trends Nationwide and in California from 2017 to 2021

Trend-line chart detailing older adult fatalities nationally and in California from 2017 to 2021. For more information, go to the following summary.

Data source: Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2017 – 2020 Final File & 2021 ARF

Summary 

  • Nationally, 7489 older adults were killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2021.

  • In California, there were 604 older adults killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2021.

  •  Older adult fatalities increased nationally by 12.5  percent between 2020 and 2021.

  • Older adult fatalities increased in California 9.4 percent between 2020 and 2021.

Nationwide Summary

Breakdown of Older Adult Fatalities Nationwide and in California in 2021

Break-down of fatalities 65 and older versus 65 and younger nationwide and in California in 2021. For more information, go to the following summary.

Data Source: i) Stewart, T. (2023). Overview of motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2021. DOT HS 813 435. NHTSA.  Appendix B, page B-4; ii) FARS 2017 – 2020 Final File, 2021 ARF

Summary 

  • In 2021 nationwide, 17 percent (or 7489) of all motor vehicle fatalities were aged 65 and older. 

  • In 2021 in California, 14 percent (or 604) of all motor vehicle fatalities were aged 65 and older.

Licensed Drivers and Older Adults Nationwide in 2021

Infographic detailing the number of adults who are licensed drivers nationwide and in California in 2021. For more information see the following summary.

Data Source: i) Vespa, J., Medina, L., and Armstrong, D. (2020, Feb - Revised). Demographic Turning Points for the United States: Population Projections for 2020 to 2060. United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2020/demo/p25-1144.html; ii) “Highway Statistics Series.” Table DL-22 - Highway Statistics 2021 - Policy | Federal Highway Administration, https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics/2021/dl22.cfm. Accessed 19 Sept. 2023. 

Summmary 

  • In 2021, 49,583,695 adults 65 and older were licensed drivers, accounting for 21.3 percent of all drivers.

  • In California, 4,692,272 adults 65 and older were licensed drivers in 2021, accounting for 17.3 percent of all California drivers.

California Summary 

The figures in this section refer to fatal and serious injuries to drivers, passengers, bicyclists, pedestrians, and other non-motor vehicle occupants aged 65 and older in California in 2021.  Given that over one third of aging road users fatalities were pedestrians (34.4 percent),  additional analysis was conducted on older adult pedestrian fatalities.

Primary Crash Factors of Older Adult Fatal and Serious Injury Crashes

Top Five Primary Crash Factors of Older Adult Fatal and Serious Injury Crashes in California (2021)

Bar chart detailing the top five most common primary crash factors in older adult fatal and serious injury crashes in California in 2021. For more information, go to the following summary.

Note: For more information on the different Crash Types, please see the Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS) Help FAQ page, in the Codebook - Crash Level Section

Data source: Provisional Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) 2021.

Summary 

  • Improper turning was the most common primary crash factor in older adult fatal and serious injury (FSI) crashes in 2021 making up 18.6 percent, followed by unsafe speed and automobile right of way accounting for 15.8 and 11.3 percent respectively. 

  • Pedestrian violation followed by driving or bicycling under the influence of alcohol or drugs made up the fourth and fifth most common primary crash factor in older adults FSI crashes in 2021, accounting for 10.7 and 8.6 percent respectively.

Primary Crash Factors of Older Adult Pedestrian Fatal and Serious Injury Crashes

Top Five Primary Crash Factors of Older Adult Pedestrian Fatal and Serious Injury Crashes in California (2021)

Bar chart detailing the top five most common primary crash factors in older adult pedestrian fatal and serious injury crashes in California in 2021. For more information, go to the following summary.

Note: Pedestrian violations occur when a pedestrian commits a violation, whereas a pedestrian right-of-way is defined as when a pedestrian’s right-of-way is violated. However, neither indicates which party is at fault for the crash. For more information on the different Crash Types, please see the Transportation Injury Mapping System (TIMS) Help FAQ page, in the Codebook - Crash Level Section

Data source: Provisional Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) 2021

Summary 

  • Pedestrian violation was the most common primary crash factor in older adult pedestrian FSI crashes in 2021 making up 39.3 percent, followed by pedestrian right of way and unsafe speed accounting for 30.0 and 7.9 percent respectively. 

  • Unknown followed by improper turning made up the fourth and fifth most common primary crash factor in older adult pedestrians FSI crashes in 2021 accounting for 7.0 and 3.2 percent respectively. 

Older Adult Pedestrian Fatalities and Serious Injuries

Older Adult Pedestrian Fatalities and Serious Injuries in California in 2021

Infographic comparing fatality and serious injury percentages between older adults and pedestrians in California in 2021

Data sources: i) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) ARF 2021; ii) Provisional Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) 2021.

Summary 

  • In 2021, of older adults killed in traffic crashes in California, 34.4 percent were pedestrians. 

  • In 2021, 18.8 percent (or 208) of pedestrians killed in traffic crashes were older adults.

  • In 2021, of older adults seriously injured in traffic crashes in California, 19.8 percent were pedestrians. 

Data definitions expressed as queries are available in the data dictionary on google sheets. 

References

  1. Vespa, J., Medina, L., and Armstrong, D. (2020, Feb - Revised). Demographic Turning Points for the United States: Population Projections for 2020 to 2060. United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2020/demo/p25-1144.html
  2. Stewart, T. (2023). Overview of motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2021. Report No. DOT HS 813 435. NHTSA. 
  3. Federal Highway Administration . (2023, August 4). Zero deaths and safe system. Zero Deaths and Safe System | FHWA. https://highways.dot.gov/safety/zero-deaths 
  4. U.S. Census Bureau. (2021, October 8). 2020 census: Redistricting file (public law 94-171) dataset. Census.gov. https://www.census.gov/data/datasets/2020/dec/2020-census-redistricting-...

This report was prepared in cooperation with the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS). The opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of OTS.

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.