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A recent study reveals that there is a purported decline in crashes among those over 70 as compared with the experience of younger drivers. Overall the results indicate that declines per licensed driver increased with age. This results in the most dramatic results for those drivers 80 and older who had the most dramatic decreases. If from 1997 to 2006, older drivers had experienced the same rates regarding fatal crash involvement as those reflected in the trend for younger drivers, then close to 7,000 additional older drivers would have been in fatal crashes. (For drivers 70-74 years old - 1,376; for drivers 75-79 -1,680, and for drivers 80 and older - 3,935). For most types of crashes, fatal crash rates fell among older drivers. The decline was dramatic as regards crashes at intersections.

Anne McCartt, an author of the new studies, and Insurance Institute for Highway Safety senior vice president for research, says that the decisive drop in intersection crashes is especially important since Institute and additional studies have shown that older drivers are overrepresented in multi-vehicle crashes at intersections. She adds that the data don't indicate any one reason for the improvement in older drivers' fatal crash experience. It is believed that there are drivers who may have benefited from newer and safer vehicles. Another consideration is that older people are generally more fit than in years past, with better access to health care.

It has been found that it is older drivers who are mostly a danger to themselves. Studies indicate that seventy-five percent of people who die in crashes where older drivers are involved, involves these drivers themselves or their older passengers.

Limiting their driving is one way that some older drivers lower their crash risk. There is presently a different ongoing Institute study which examines how older adults are possibly restricting their driving in response to declines in their health, mobility, vision, and memory.

Researchers involved drivers 65 and older in 3 states between November 2006 and December 2007, while they were renewing their driving licenses. More than 9 out of 10 of those drivers interviewed said that driving themselves is their primary way to travel. Less than 1 percent of those interviewed said they'd been advised by family, friends, or a doctor to give up driving.

For most of those interviewed some impairment was reported, and the degree of impairment tended to increase with age. For example, of those drivers between ages 65 and 69, 26 percent reported having at least some type of mobility issue. This may be compared with 43 percent of drivers 80 and older. The oldest drivers were those interviewed that provide to be most likely to say that they restricted their own driving. Among those drivers 80 and older, results indicated that they were more than twice as likely as 65-69 year-olds to self-limit their driving. This was performed by making fewer trips, doing such things as avoiding night driving, traveling shorter distances, avoiding the interstate highways and by avoiding driving in ice or snow.