ANALYSIS OF CRASH-INVOLVEMENT TRENDS BY DRIVERS' AGE IN FLORIDA

In 1992, the state of Florida ranked 3rd in the U.S. in fatal traffic crashes. In the same year, 20.8% of the persons killed in Florida traffic accidents were 65 years or older, which might indicate a particular problem for this age group. It is important to keep these statistics in mind when studying the effect of age on traffic safety in Florida as this state has one of the highest levels of elderly drivers in the U.S., due to the large number of retirees residing there. Older drivers have a high risk of traffic crashes, and some research has found that younger drivers (aged 16-24 years) also have high crash risk. While most previous research focused on elderly drivers' crash involvements, this article looks at the entire age spectrum in its analysis of crash involvement trends by drivers' age in Florida. Issues addressed include accident patterns of drivers who are non-Florida residents, crash involvement rates of drivers who were involved in an inappropriate driving maneuver, and differences in crash risk by age and location within the state.