- Target:
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Region:
- United States of America
- Website:
- www.nhtsa.gov
Research on age-related driving concerns has shown that at around the age of 65 drivers face an increased risk of being involved in a vehicle crash. After the age of 75, the risk of driver fatality increases sharply, because older drivers are more vulnerable to both crash-related injury and death.
Three behavioral factors in particular may contribute to these statistics: poor judgement in making left-hand turns; drifting within the traffic lane; and decreased ability to change behavior in response to an unexpected or rapidly changing situation.Concern about the increased number of older drivers and their potentially decreased driving abilities is growing, especially among younger drivers.
Statistics, based on all people injured or killed in traffic crashes, indicate that older drivers are at a disproportionate risk for becoming involved in fatal crashes. A NHTSA study of 1995 FARS (Fatal Accident Reporting System) data reports that senior citizens accounted for:
5% of all people injured in traffic crashes
13% of all traffic fatalities
13% of all vehicle occupant fatalities
18% of all pedestrian fatalities.
Of traffic fatalities involving older drivers, 82 percent happened in the daytime, 71 percent occurred on weekdays, and 75 percent involved a second vehicle.When a crash involved an older driver and a younger driver, the older driver was 3 times as likely as the younger driver to be the one struck. Moreover, 28 percent of crash-involved older drivers were turning left when they were struck-- 7 times more often than younger drivers were struck while making left turns. In 27% of these two-vehicle fatal crashes the older driver was turning left.
Drivers over 65, along with new teen-age drivers, have the highest accident rates per miles driven. Another NHTSA study found that on the basis of estimated annual travel, the fatality rate for drivers 85 and over is nine times as high as the rate for drivers 25 through 69 years old. So please help get the seniors who should not be driving off the road.
We, the undersigned, call the NHTSA to eliminate the seniors who are not capable of driving.
Seniors should also undergo a series of regular tests to make sure they are capable of driving on the road.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Ban Seniors who should not be Driving petition to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration was written by lizzie and is in the category Roads & Transport at GoPetition.