What's the Most Dangerous State for Older Drivers?

CARS.COM — The graying of baby boomers known as the “silver tsunami” continues to drive concerns about mature drivers and roadway safety. Boomers are the fastest-growing segment of drivers, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, with drivers 65 and older expected to make up a quarter of all drivers by 2025. A new study by Caring.com ranks states by senior-driver traffic fatalities. The caregiver resources website hopes the findings will encourage families to begin having conversations with their senior drivers about limiting or stopping driving before safety becomes an issue, said Dayna Steele, Caring.com’s chief caring expert.

Related: How to Have ‘The Talk’ With Older Drivers

The study compared each state’s number of residents 65 and older who were killed in car accidents with that age group’s share of the state’s population using 2014 car-fatality numbers from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and U.S. Census Bureau population data. In Rhode Island — the most dangerous state for older drivers — senior citizens accounted for around 35 percent of 2014 car-related fatalities but made up just about 16 percent of the state’s population, making seniors nearly 19 percent more likely to be involved in a fatal accident than expected, according to the study.

Here are Caring.com’s top 10 most dangerous and safest states for senior drivers with their likelihood for senior-driver fatalities:

Most Dangerous States

10. Delaware: 5.86 percent
9. Washington: 6.29 percent
8. New Jersey: 6.71 percent
7. Hawaii: 7.09 percent
6. Pennsylvania: 7.16 percent
5. Idaho: 7.23 percent
4. New York: 8.23 percent
3. Minnesota: 8.42 percent
2. Maine: 9.17 percent
1. Rhode Island 18.87 percent

Safest States

10. Connecticut: 1.08 percent
9. Florida: 0.31 percent
8. Wyoming: 0.02 percent
7. South Carolina: -0.35 percent
6. Mississippi: -1.29 percent
5. Montana: -1.62 percent
4. Alaska: -2.57 percent
3. Louisiana: -2.76 percent
2. North Dakota: -4.57 percent
1. New Mexico: -5.89 percent

The study also looked at each state’s driving rules for seniors and found there was a correlation between rules and fatalities. For the most part, Steele said, states with stricter rules (more frequent renewal requirements, vision tests, in-person testing) had fewer senior fatalities and states with less stringent rules or none at all tended to have more senior fatalities. Six of the most dangerous states for mature drivers do not have driving rules for seniors: Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Washington and Delaware. Just two of the 10 safest states lack regulations aimed at senior drivers: Mississippi and Wyoming.

Population density also was a contributing factor, Steele said, with more populous states experiencing more fatalities. And while she wasn’t surprised by the study’s findings, she was surprised to learn that 19 states place no restrictions on older drivers.

“They’re keeping an eye on their older drivers, it looks like, in the safest states,” Steel said, “Whereas in the most dangerous states, it’s like: Here’s a car, knock yourself out, have fun.

“People feel like [driving restrictions are] an attack on their civil liberties. … Almost all of [the most dangerous states] appeared to have stricter rules for teenage drivers, first-time drivers … but none for older drivers,” she added. Steele would like to see all states have consistent regulations for testing and renewing licenses for mature drivers.

Why are the study’s findings important to families?

“Because people need to start having these conversations and they need to start having these conversations early on,” she said. “Have the conversation, have a plan and then go about your life.”

For more information about the study on Caring.com, click here.