Renewing licence in person cuts deaths among elderly drivers
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《英国医生杂志》
Getting drivers to renew their licence in person can reduce deaths among people over 85 by nearly a fifth, shows research from the United States. Eye tests, road tests, and more frequent licence renewals fail to show a similar impact.
At present, 14% of drivers who die in the United States are people aged 65 and over, although the highest death rate is among teenage male drivers. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the proportion of deaths among people over 65 will reach 25% by 2030.
"Driver fatalities have decreased overall, but they have increased for older drivers, especially for the older old—those over 85," said lead author Dr David Grabowski, assistant professor at the department of healthcare organization and policy at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. "We'll see more and more older drivers with the aging of the baby boom generation. Licensing laws are one way to address the problem."
The study, published in JAMA ( 2004;291: 2840-6), retrospectively analysed all fatal crashes in the 48 contiguous states (excluding Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington, DC) from 1990 to 2000. Altogether there were 74 428 deaths among drivers 65 and over during this period and 231 488 deaths among drivers aged 25-64.
Kermit Westberg, aged 90, stands next to his car in Ogema, Wisconsin. Drivers of his age are less likely to die in car crashes if they have to renew their licence in person
Credit: ANDY MANIS/AP
In 2000, 45 states required drivers to renew their licence in person, 40 states required eye tests for older drivers, and two states required road tests. (Some states required a combination of tests.) The average renewal cycle was 4.35 years.
States that required in-person license renewal had a 17% lower fatality rate than did states without in-person renewal laws. There were 4275 fatalities among drivers 85 or older in the 45 states with in-person licence renewal laws and 330 in the three states without these laws. The adjusted incident rate ratio was 0.83 (95% confidence interval 0.71 to 0.96).
Dr Grabowski said that in-person renewal may mean that the examiner can see a person is unfit and send them for medical evaluation. Older drivers may also be more reluctant to apply for a new licence when they know they must do it in person. It is already known that older drivers often restrict their own driving behaviour by not driving at night, in bad weather, on major highways, during rush hour, or after an incident in which they were at fault.(Janice Hopkins Tanne)
At present, 14% of drivers who die in the United States are people aged 65 and over, although the highest death rate is among teenage male drivers. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the proportion of deaths among people over 65 will reach 25% by 2030.
"Driver fatalities have decreased overall, but they have increased for older drivers, especially for the older old—those over 85," said lead author Dr David Grabowski, assistant professor at the department of healthcare organization and policy at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. "We'll see more and more older drivers with the aging of the baby boom generation. Licensing laws are one way to address the problem."
The study, published in JAMA ( 2004;291: 2840-6), retrospectively analysed all fatal crashes in the 48 contiguous states (excluding Alaska, Hawaii, and Washington, DC) from 1990 to 2000. Altogether there were 74 428 deaths among drivers 65 and over during this period and 231 488 deaths among drivers aged 25-64.
Kermit Westberg, aged 90, stands next to his car in Ogema, Wisconsin. Drivers of his age are less likely to die in car crashes if they have to renew their licence in person
Credit: ANDY MANIS/AP
In 2000, 45 states required drivers to renew their licence in person, 40 states required eye tests for older drivers, and two states required road tests. (Some states required a combination of tests.) The average renewal cycle was 4.35 years.
States that required in-person license renewal had a 17% lower fatality rate than did states without in-person renewal laws. There were 4275 fatalities among drivers 85 or older in the 45 states with in-person licence renewal laws and 330 in the three states without these laws. The adjusted incident rate ratio was 0.83 (95% confidence interval 0.71 to 0.96).
Dr Grabowski said that in-person renewal may mean that the examiner can see a person is unfit and send them for medical evaluation. Older drivers may also be more reluctant to apply for a new licence when they know they must do it in person. It is already known that older drivers often restrict their own driving behaviour by not driving at night, in bad weather, on major highways, during rush hour, or after an incident in which they were at fault.(Janice Hopkins Tanne)