U.S. Department
of Transportation
National Highway
Traffic Safety
Administration 		Research Note
November 2000

Older Driver Fatality Rates by State, 1998

Introduction

Older drivers age 65 and over are increasing in number. The number of fatal crashes in which they are involved is also increasing. This research note takes a look at the latest data available to formulate fatality rates for this segment of the population.

Older Population

Between 1988 and 1998 the number of people aged 65 and older grew from 30 to 34 million, a nationwide increase of about 14%. During that time period, every state but the District of Columbia (-5%) showed an increase. Twenty-seven states had population increases at a rate less than that of the nation, or less than a 14% change, while 23 states had percent increases greater than or equal to that of the nation. States whose population remained relatively flat (5% increase or less) include: Iowa (+2%), North Dakota (+2%), Nebraska (+4%), Kansas (+5%), West Virginia (+5%), South Dakota (+5%), Rhode Island (+5%) and New York (+5%). States that showed the highest percent change were Nevada (+79%), Alaska (+70%), Arizona (+38), Hawaii (+37%) and Utah (+30%).

In terms of the total population, persons 65 years old and older make up 13% of the population (see Table). On a state by state basis, older people make up as little as 5% of the population in some states (Alaska) to as much as 18% of the population in others (Florida). The five states with the highest percentage of older persons are: Florida (18%), Pennsylvania (16%), Rhode Island (16%), West Virginia (15%) and Iowa (15%). The states with the lowest percentage of older persons are: Alaska (5%), Utah (9%), Texas (10%), Georgia (10%) and Colorado (10 %).

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Table 1. Population Estimates, Licensed Drivers, Registered Vehicles, Driver Fatality Rates, and Older Driver Fatality Rates

National Center for Statistics & Analysis - Research & Development - 400 Seventh St. SW Washington, DC 20590









State		 1998 Total Population (Thousands) 1988 Older Population (Thousands) 1998 Older Population (Thousands) Percent Change (1988 vs 1998) Older Drivers as % of Total Population Older Driver Fatalities per 100,000 Older Population Licensed Drivers (Thousands) Total Driver Fatalities Driver Fatalities per 100,000 Licensed Drivers Older Driver Fatalities Older Driver Fatalities per 100,000 Licensed Drivers Registered

Vehicles (Thousands)

Driver Fatalities per 100,000 Registered Vehicles Older Driver Fatalities per 100,000 Registered Vehicles
Alabama 4,352 507 568 +12 13 20.1 3,434 726 21.1 114 3.3 3,903 18.6 2.9
Alaska 614 20 34 +70 6 8.8 456 39 8.6 3 0.7 560 7.0 0.5
Arizona 4,669 446 618 +39 13 13.6 3,198 473 14.8 84 2.6 2,998 15.8 2.8
Arkansas 2,538 343 363 +6 14 18.2 1,918 398 20.8 66 3.4 1,775 22.4 3.7
California 32,667 3,003 3,615 +20 11 6.7 20,499 1,707 8.3 242 1.2 26,004 6.6* 0.9
Colorado 3,971 311 402 +29 10 11.9 2,946 370 12.6 48 1.6 3,563 10.4 1.4
Connecticut 3,274 432 469 +9 14 8.3 2,349 220 9.4 40 1.7 2,751 8.0 1.5
Delaware 744 77 96 +25 13 19.8 546 79 14.5 19 3.5 627 12.6 3.0
D.C. 523 77 73 -5 14 5.5 350 24 6.9 4 1.1 230 10.4 1.7
Florida 14,916 2,223 2,734 +23 18 12.9 12,027 1,552 12.9 354 2.9 11,498 13.5 3.1
Georgia 7,642 627 755 +20 10 21.5 5,316 1,000 18.8 162 3.0 6,980 14.3 2.3
Hawaii 1,193 115 158 +37 13 3.8 746 71 9.5 6 0.8 724 9.8 0.8
Idaho 1,229 117 139 +19 11 18.7 863 160 18.5 26 3.0 1,153 13.9 2.3
Illinois 12,045 1,404 1,496 +7 12 8.3 7,701 831 10.8 124 1.6 9,510 8.7 1.3
Indiana 5,899 675 740 +10 13 15.3 3,976 661 16.6 113 2.8 5,475 12.1 2.1
Iowa 2,862 421 431 +2 15 16.5 1,950 290 14.9 71 3.6 3,182 9.1 2.2
Kansas 2,629 336 354 +5 14 16.4 1,851 335 18.1 58 3.1 2,169 15.4 2.7
Kentucky 3,936 456 493 +8 13 17.6 2,640 566 21.4 87 3.3 2,885 19.6 3.0
Louisiana 4,369 458 504 +10 12 14.1 2,736 545 19.9 71 2.6 3,470 15.7 2.1
Maine 1,244 159 175 +10 14 17.1 913 127 13.9 30 3.3 958 13.3 3.1
Maryland 5,135 495 592 +20 12 9.1 3,178 334 11 54 1.7 3,793 8.8 1.4
Massachusetts 6,147 802 861 +7 14 4.4 4,394 226 5.1 38 0.9 5,259 4.3 0.7
Michigan 9,817 1,071 1,223 +14 13 12.1 6,803 832 12.2 148 2.2 8,283 10.0 1.8
Minnesota 4,725 536 583 +9 12 15.1 2,868 403 14.1 88 3.1 4,306 9.4 2.0
Mississippi 2,752 316 336 +6 12 32.4 1,758 633 36.0 109 6.2 2,287 27.7 4.8
Missouri 5,439 702 745 +6 14 16.9 3,798 732 19.3 126 3.3 4,431 16.5 2.8
Montana 880 103 117 +14 13 23.9 647 154 23.8 28 4.3 1,010 15.3 2.8
Nebraska 1,663 220 229 +4 14 12.2 1,186 192 16.2 28 2.4 1,545 12.4 1.8
Nevada 1,747 112 200 +79 11 13.0 1,246 189 15.2 26 2.1 1,245 15.2 2.1
New Hampshire 1,185 121 142 +17 12 12.0 907 90 9.9 17 1.9 1,085 8.3 1.6
New Jersey 8,115 1,002 1,106 +10 14 7.8 5,563 403 7.2 86 1.6 5,881 6.9 1.5
New Mexico 1,737 153 198 +29 11 15.2 1,204 214 17.8 30 2.5 1,627 13.2 1.8
New York 18,175 2,316 2,424 +5 13 6.6 10,554 770 7.3 160 1.5 10,561 7.3 1.5
North Carolina 7,546 765 947 +24 13 19.2 5,534 980 17.7 182 3.3 5,937 16.5 3.1
North Dakota 638 90 92 +2 14 9.8 455 55 12.1 9 2.0 688 8.0 1.3
Ohio 11,209 1,362 1,501 +10 13 9.9 7,941 920 11.6 148 1.9 10,269 9.0 1.4
Oklahoma 3,347 413 448 +9 13 19.4 2,305 481 20.9 87 3.8 2,973 16.2 2.9
Oregon 3,282 374 433 +16 13 15.7 2,417 307 12.7 68 2.8 3,045 10.1 2.2
Pennsylvania 12,001 1,777 1,904 +7 16 9.3 8,405 952 11.3 178 2.1 9,170 10.4 1.9
Rhode Island 988 146 154 +6 16 4.5 682 43 6.3 7 1.0 733 5.9 1.0
South Carolina 3,836 375 468 +25 12 16.2 2,679 638 23.8 76 2.8 2,934 21.8 2.6
South Dakota 738 101 106 +5 14 17.0 535 105 19.6 18 3.4 794 13.2 2.3
Tennessee 5,431 600 679 +13 13 19.1 4,073 831 20.4 130 3.2 4,529 18.4 2.9
Texas 19,760 1,640 2,000 +22 10 14.9 13,323 2,084 15.6 298 2.2 13,473 15.5 2.2
Utah 2,100 142 184 +30 9 12.5 1,393 178 12.8 23 1.7 1,557 11.4 1.5
Vermont 591 65 73 +12 12 12.3 497 58 11.7 9 1.8 513 11.3 1.8
Virginia 6,791 633 767 +21 11 14.3 4,668 593 12.7 110 2.4 5,876 10.1 1.9
Washington 5,689 547 652 +19 12 8.4 4,079 397 9.7 55 1.4 4,930 8.1 1.1
West Virginia 1,811 263 275 +5 15 13.1 1,281 227 17.7 36 2.8 1,400 16.2 2.6
Wisconsin 5,224 637 691 +9 13 11.9 3,710 452 12.2 82 2.2 4,374 10.3 1.9
Wyoming 481 45 56 +24 12 21.4 359 96 26.7 12 3.3 575 16.7 2.1
Total 270,299 30,123 34,401 +14 13 12.2 184,861 24,743 13.4 4,188 2.3 215,496 11.5 1.9

Sources: Fatalities - NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS),
1988 Population, 1998 Population - Bureau of the Census,
Registered Vehicles & Licensed Drivers - Federal Highway Administration

Driver Fatality Rates

Resident Population

Sixty-five year old and older driver fatality rates give another picture of the states. The following states have the lowest older driver fatality rates per 100,000 older population: Hawaii (3.8), Massachusetts (4.4), Rhode Island (4.5), the District of Columbia (5.5) and New York (6.6). States with the highest fatality rates for this group of drivers include: Mississippi (32.4), Montana (23.9), Georgia (21.4), Wyoming (21.4) and Alabama (20.1).

Licensed Drivers

Comparing fatality rates for the older drivers with fatality rates for all drivers by state and licensed drivers, the states with the lowest rates for all drivers are not the same as for older drivers (see Table 1). In the case of all drivers killed per 100,000 licensed drivers, Massachusetts is lowest (5.1), followed closely by Rhode Island (6.3), the District of Columbia (6.9), New Jersey (7.2) and New York (7.3). For older drivers killed, Alaska (0.7), Hawaii (0.8) and Massachusetts (0.9) all have rates below 1 older driver per 100,000 licensed drivers. States that exceeded the national rate of 13.4 the most are Mississippi (36.0), Wyoming (26.7), Montana (23.8), South Carolina (23.8) and Kentucky (31.4). For the older drivers, rates are highest in two of the same states. In Mississippi, 6.2 older drivers were killed per 100,000 licensed drivers and in Montana the rate was 4.3 (see Table).

Registered Vehicles

The table shows the number of registered vehicles as well as the fatality rates for older drivers and all drivers per 100,000 registered vehicles within states. Massachusetts (4.3), Rhode Island (5.9), New Jersey (6.9), Alaska (7.0) and New York (7.3) are the states with the lowest fatality rates for all drivers. Three of these states - Alaska (0.5), Massachusetts (0.7), and Rhode Island (1.0) - also show the lowest rates for older drivers. Hawaii (0.8) and California (0.9) also have rates under one for these drivers. At the high end for all drivers are Mississippi (27.7), Arkansas (22.4), South Carolina (21.8), Kentucky (19.6) and Alabama (18.6). States with the highest rates for older drivers were Mississippi (4.8), Arkansas (3.7), Florida (3.1), Maine (3.1) and North Carolina (3.1).


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For additional copies of this research note, please call (202)366-4198 or (toll free) 1-800-934-8517. For questions on data reported in this research, please contact Keith Poindexter at (202)366-0018. This research note and other general information on traffic safety may be accessed by Internet users at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/ncsa.

National Center for Statistics & Analysis - Research & Development - 400 Seventh St. SW Washington, DC 20590