[Accident incidence at various ages]

The number of accidents happening at different stages of life is dependent on many factors. While most accidents caused by drivers in their early adult life result from a lack of experience and overestimation on their own skills, illnesses and physiological deficiencies brought about by old age account for an ever increasing percentage of the accidents caused by old drivers. These changes in the state of the health of old drivers that are potential causes of accidents are not reflected by official accident statistics and can therefore only be described according to their risk potential. Surveys among individual risk groups or certain groups of patients show that various health problems lead to a much higher risk of accidents that can be seen from the statistics. The increasing number of relatively old people that are in possession of a driving licence will have a large-scale effect on insurances, damage calculations and possibly make regulating measures necessary also for experienced drivers similar to the system of restricted driving licence introduced in Germany where beginners have to prove their driving ability over a period of two years.