Growing Number of Fatal Crashes Involve Older Drivers

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March 13th, 2018

Americans are living longer and driving later in their lives, but newly released numbers show a growing threat to the safety of older motorists.

A report released by nonprofit transportation research group TRIP finds fatalities in traffic crashes involving drivers 65 years old or older increased 22 percent from 2012 to 2016. The number of seniors killed in those crashes increased by 16 percent nationwide.

The report finds Maryland experienced a similar increase in the overall number of deadly crashes, but also identified a marked 33 percent increase in the number of older drivers killed in those crashes during the four-year period.

Virginia saw an 11 percent decline in older drivers killed in traffic crashes. The commonwealth ranked 19th among the 50 states and D.C. for total number of deadly crashes involving seniors.