AAA: Elderly drivers generally end to be ‘safer’ drivers

AAA: Elderly drivers generally end to be ‘safer’ drivers

A new study carried out by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has revealed that elderly drivers are generally 'safer drivers as compared to their younger counterparts. The study also found that over 70 percent US senior citizens back tougher rules for elderly drivers.

According to the findings of the study, more than 76 percent senior citizens favor health screenings for elderly drivers; and nearly 74 percent of them believe that elderly should have to renew their license personally.

However, at present, only 33 states and the District have the requisite additional provisions for the country's elderly drivers.

Nonetheless, going by the AAA study, even though elderly drivers have a reputation for being slow and collision-prone, 99 percent senior citizens claim that they have never met with an accident. In fact, they have not even has a moving violation in the last two years.

Asserting that they have heeded the warnings about the perils of distracted driving, nearly 34 percent of the senior citizens aged 75 and older told AAA that they have never talked on their cellphones while driving. In a stark comparison, a whopping 82 percent of younger drivers, aged between 25 and 39 years, have admitted having used their cellphones while driving.

In reference to the findings of the AAA study, Jurek Grabowski - AAA's research director - said: "Older drivers tend to wear their seat belts more often. They tend to drink and drive less, and so they tend to be general safer drivers."