[Drivers of advanced age in traffic accidents]

The elderly are vulnerable and potentially unpredictable active participants in traffic who deserve special attention. Longer life expectancy entails a greater number of senior drivers, that is, persons with various health problems and difficulties accompanying old age. At the turn of the millennium, the share of population aged 65 or more in Slovenia was around 13%, and in 25 years it will be near as much as 19%. The share of drivers from this age group was 28% a year ago, and it is expected to reach about 54%. Numerous studies have shown that there are many differences in driving attitude between the young and the elderly. The young are by large active victims, and their main offense and cause of accident is speeding, while the elderly are more passive and their main offense is ignoring and enforcing the right of way. This paper focuses on the differences in the occurrence and type of injuries between the young and the elderly drivers, based on an analysis of all road accidents in Slovenia in the period between 1998-2000. Older people (over 65) caused only 4.7% of all road accidents (16.7% of all accidents involving pedestrians, 11.5% of all involving cyclists, 2.7% involving motorcyclists and 5% of all accidents involving car drivers). Of all accidents, 89.3% were without injuries, and the fatal outcome was registered in 0.4% accidents. Among the elderly (65-74 years of age), however, this share was 1%, and rising to 2.7% with the age 75 and above. By calculating the weight index, which discriminates between minor and severe injuries, and the fatal outcome, it was established that age groups 65-74 and > or = 75 cause three and five times greater damage, respectively than age groups from 18 to 54 years. With years, psychophysical changes lead to a drop in driving ability, which in turn increases the risk of road accidents. It is true that elderly people cause less traffic accidents (and also drive less) than the young, but when they are involved in an accident, as a rule the consequences are more tragical. A research of this increasing group traffic participants (in the role of drivers as well) could provide an important contribution to their safety and to the safety of all people involved in road traffic.