The licensing and safety of older drivers in Britain

Driving licence holding in Britain is increasing for older people, particularly older women. Licence holding by men aged 40–69 has saturated at about 90%, and for women aged 30–59 at about 78%. Drivers begin to surrender licences after age 70. By age 90, 38% of women and 25% of men who held a licence at age 70 have surrendered their licences.

The paper shows the numbers of car drivers of different ages killed and injured in accidents since 1975 and the fatality and casualty rates per driver and per mile driven. The safety of older drivers is improving faster than that of younger age groups. The number of car driver fatalities aged 70 and over was highest between 1990 and 2004, and has subsequently reduced by almost 40%. For drivers aged 80 and over, the peak was in 2004 and the number has subsequently reduced by almost 50%.

The paper uses demographic projections, forecast licence holding and the trends in fatality rates to project the numbers of fatalities for drivers of different ages in Britain. This shows that fatalities among older drivers aged are likely to continue to reduce.

Fatality rates for older road users are increased by the fragility of older persons. This disguises the fact that the accident involvement rate for older drivers does not increase with age until after age 75 or 80.