Status: 03/02/2023 3:35 p.m
According to the Federal Statistical Office, traffic accidents involving senior citizens have become rarer in Germany, but often more serious. An accident researcher emphasizes that more attention must be paid to the risk of the 75+ age group.
In 2021, older people were less likely to be involved in traffic accidents than younger people, measured in terms of their share of the total population. At the same time, however, these accidents are often more serious.
According to new figures from the Federal Statistical Office, 66,812 people over the age of 65 were involved in accidents involving personal injury in 2021. That was 14.5 percent of all those involved in the accident. In contrast, the proportion of the population aged 65 and over was 22.1 percent.
The lower proportion of accidents is likely to be due, among other things, to the fact that older people no longer drive to work regularly and are less likely to take part in road traffic than younger people, it was said. In old age, the use of cars and bicycles also decreases.
The statistical risk of accidents increases sharply from the age of 75
Siegfried Brockmann, Head of Accident Research at Insurers, views the statistics with reservations. “On the one hand, there are fewer drivers in this age group, especially among women over 75, and on the other hand, seniors often do not drive as much or as long distances,” he said. In terms of mileage, senior citizens therefore have a similar frequency of accidents “as the high-risk group of 18 to 25 year olds”.
In addition, the age group of 65 to 75 year olds does not usually show any abnormalities compared to younger drivers. “The drama increases from the age of 75,” said Brockmann about the findings of accident research. However, these are purely statistical values: “There are also 80-year-olds who can drive really well and 65-year-olds who are already having difficulties.”
Accidents involving seniors are often more serious
According to the Federal Statistical Office, the consequences of accidents involving older people are often more serious. In 2021, more than 45,000 people aged 65 or more were involved in road accidents. 868 of them died and 11,169 were seriously injured.
The proportion of senior citizens among all those involved in accidents was 13.9 percent, while the proportion of fatalities was significantly higher at 33.9 percent. Almost a quarter of the older people involved in the accident were also seriously injured, while the proportion of those under the age of 65 was significantly lower at 15.7 percent.
On the one hand, this reflects the physical resistance that decreases with age, the reason given. In addition, older people participate in traffic more frequently than vulnerable pedestrians and are therefore at greater risk of more serious injuries.
Seniors in cars are often the cause of accidents
“Seniors in the car are more likely to cause accidents than pedestrians, they are often the ones who suffer an accident,” says accident researcher Brockmann. This is also confirmed by the figures from the Federal Statistical Office for the year 2021: In 68.2 percent of cases, senior citizens behind the wheel were primarily responsible for accidents. Among the at least 75-year-olds, three out of four drivers involved in the accident were even blamed for the accident.
The causes of accidents differ from those in younger age groups. Older drivers were more frequently accused of not giving way. Misconduct when turning, reversing, reversing, driving in and driving off was more common than among younger people. On the other hand, older people were accused much less often of not keeping the distance or driving at an inappropriate speed. Drinking and driving was also a much less common issue than among younger people.
“Mobility also leads to more participation”
Overall, impaired vision and hearing in seniors also play a greater role in accidents, according to Heiner Sothmann, spokesman for the German Road Safety Service. Older drivers can find it more difficult to look over their shoulders, and senior citizens often react more slowly. In this respect, it is also important to “keep fit” seniors with a view to traffic.
But sensitivity is also required: “Mobility also leads to more participation,” emphasized Sothmann. It is then necessary to identify alternatives. In this way, city traffic with numerous stressful situations can already be avoided if, for example, a park-and-ride parking lot is accessed and the further journey is continued with public transport.
Technology is designed to help seniors drive
Many things can also be made easier with the help of technology, said Sothmann. “An emergency brake or parking assistant make a big difference.” Accident researcher Brockmann sees everything that goes beyond that, however, rather negative aspects for seniors, such as intelligent cruise control. “If you have to switch from your assistant to your own situational awareness within seconds, that’s too fast for many senior citizens.”
To improve the driving behavior of older drivers, Brockmann advocates driving with a “professional” from the age of 75 onwards. The experience from own projects is positive – error rates are even better months later. In addition, clear feedback in a one-to-one conversation is usually better received by those affected than the more or less clear comments of children or grandchildren.