Revisited: Crash Data and an Aging Population Raise an Issue: How old is too old to drive?

Thinking Transportation: Engaging Conversations about Transportation Innovations

Thinking Transportation: Engaging Conversations about Transportation Innovations
Revisited: Crash Data and an Aging Population Raise an Issue: How old is too old to drive?
Feb 04, 2025 Season 3 Episode 27
Bernie Fette, Myunghoon Ko, Allan Rutter

Folks are living longer thanks to medical breakthroughs and healthier lifestyles, and that means our overall U.S. population is skewing older. The Texas Demographic Center notes that the U.S. population aged 65 and older spiked between 2010 and 2020, the largest 10-year growth on record. That means more drivers on the road are older too, and statistics show that licensees over 70 jumped from 73 percent in 1997 to 87 percent in 2022. A year ago, Bernie Fette talked with TTI's Myunghoon Ko about the challenges and dangers facing older drivers, as well as how research like that performed at the Institute is producing more effective countermeasures to help keep these vulnerable drivers safer on our roadways. Today, we revisit that conversation.