According to recent research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, older drivers are less likely to survive serious incidents than any other age group, and they also drive antiquated vehicles that lack critical safety measures. Keep reading to learn more and contact The Law Offices of Larry H. Parker at 800-333-0000 if you have been injured in or lost a loved one to a vehicle accident.
Older drivers are healthier than ever before
Americans in their 70s and 80s are healthier than ever before, driving more miles and colliding less frequently than in previous decades. However, due to age-related fragility, older drivers are less likely to survive collisions than other populations. A recent IIHS research indicated that drivers 75 and older are nearly 4 times as likely to die in a side-impact incident as middle-aged drivers, and roughly 3 times as likely to die in a frontal crash.
According to two new studies, drivers aged 70 and over are more likely to drive older, smaller vehicles that lack essential safety features. The first research analyzed the cars of 1.5 million Florida drivers aged 35 to 54 and 70 and older who were involved in an incident between 2014 and 2018. The second polled 900 drivers in those age categories from throughout the country to find out what variables affected their most recent vehicle purchase.
Older drivers are much more likely to drive older cars
Drivers in their 70s and older were substantially more likely than drivers in their 30s and 50s to be driving cars that were at least 16 years old, according to a study of Florida crashes. Older drivers were also less likely to be driving vehicles that were less than three years old.
Furthermore, as a driver’s age grew, electronic stability control (ESC) and head-protecting side airbags became less common as standard features. For drivers 70 and older, vehicles without ESC were linked to a 37 percent greater risk of death, while vehicles without basic head-protecting side airbags were linked to a doubled risk of fatality.
Older drivers preferred sedans and hatchbacks, with the proportion of persons driving midsize passenger vehicles growing and the number of people driving SUVs falling as they became older. Vehicle size and weight, in addition to design and safety features, are crucial determinants in accident survival, because occupants of smaller cars are exposed to greater pressures in crashes with bigger vehicles.
Finally, drivers 75 and older were much less likely than drivers 35 to 54 to drive vehicles that had high ratings in the IIHS moderate overlap front and original side impact tests.
Call us if you have suffered due to a vehicle accident
You can contact The Law Offices of Larry H. Parker at 800-333-0000 if you have been injured in a vehicle accident or have lost a loved one in an accident. We can begin with a free legal consultation during which you will discover all your options.
