2024 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 2018 to 2022

Trend-line chart detailing older adult fatalities nationally and in California from 2018 to 2022. For more information, go to the following summary.

Data source: Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2018 – 2021 Final File & 2022 ARF

Summary 

  • Nationally, 7971 older adults were killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2022.

  • In California, there were 677 older adults killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2022.

  •  Older adult fatalities increased nationally by 5.9 percent between 2021 and 2022.

  • Older adult fatalities increased in California 7.1 percent between 2021 and 2022.

Nationwide Summary

Breakdown of Older Adult Fatalities Nationwide and in California in 2022

Break-down of fatalities 65 and older versus 65 and younger nationwide and in California in 2022. For more information, go to the following summary.

Data Source: FARS 2018 – 2021 Final File, 2022 ARF

Summary 

  • In 2022 nationwide, 19 percent (or 7971) of all motor vehicle fatalities were aged 65 and older. 

  • In 2022 in California, 15 percent (or 677) of all motor vehicle fatalities were aged 65 and older.

Licensed Drivers and Older Adults Nationwide in 2022

Infographic detailing the number of adults who are licensed drivers nationwide and in California in 2022. 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 2022 - Policy | Federal Highway Administration, https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics/2022/dl22.cfm. Accessed 23 Sept. 2024. 

Summary 

  • Nationally in 2022, 51,523,603 adults 65 and older were licensed drivers, accounting for 21.9 percent of all drivers.

  • In California, 5,072,440 adults 65 and older were licensed drivers in 2022, accounting for 18.4 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 2022.  Given that over one third of aging road users fatalities were pedestrians (34.9 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 (2022)

Bar chart detailing the top five most common primary crash factors in older adult fatal and serious injury crashes in California in 2022. 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 2022 making up 18.2 percent, followed by unsafe speed and pedestrian violation automobile right of way accounting for 15.8 and 10.8 percent respectively. 

  • Automobile right of way 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 2022, accounting for 10.6 and 9.2 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 (2022)

Bar chart detailing the top five most common primary crash factors in older adult pedestrian fatal and serious injury crashes in California in 2022. 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) 2022

Summary 

  • Pedestrian violation was the most common primary crash factor in older adult pedestrian FSI crashes in 2022 making up 38.6 percent, followed by pedestrian right of way and unsafe speed accounting for 33.9 and 7.2 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 2022 accounting for 5.5 and 3.6 percent respectively. 

Older Adult Pedestrian Fatalities and Serious Injuries

Older Adult Pedestrian Fatalities and Serious Injuries in California in 2022

Infographic comparing fatality and serious injury percentages between older adults and pedestrians in California in 2022

Data sources: i) Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) ARF 2022; ii) Provisional Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) 2022.

Summary 

  • In 2022, of older adults killed in traffic crashes in California, 34.9 percent were pedestrians. 

  • In 2022, 20.4 percent of pedestrians killed in traffic crashes were older adults.

  • In 2022, of older adults seriously injured in traffic crashes in California, 22.3 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.htm
  2. National Center for Statistics and Analysis. (2024, June, Revised). Overview of motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2022. DOT HS 813 560. 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. State of California, Department of Finance, E-4 Population Estimates for Cities, Counties, and the State, 2021-2024, with 2020 Census Benchmark. Sacramento, California, May 2024.

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.