The Worst Driver in America Is-

THE WORST DRIVER IN AMERICA IS.00 If Teenagers are Reckless and the Elderly are Slow, Which Group is the Biggest Danger on the Road? Sources: WSJ, census.gov, National Safety Council daldan DEAD END In terms of numbers, they're pretty closely represented on American roads. It largely depends on your definition of elderly: Number of U.S. Drivers, by Age Age Number (1,000) Percent 205,100 10,034 1,307 2,283 2,870 3,155 Total 100.0 19 years old and under 16 years old 17 years old 18 years old 19 years old 4.9 0.6 1.1 WEST 1.4 1.5 OF 20 to 24 years old 20 years old 21 years old 22 years old 23 years old 24 years old 17,173 3,291 3,362 3,400 3,517 3,603 8.4 INTERSTATE 1.6 HE STATE TEXAS 1.6 10 1.7 1.7 1.8 25 to 34 years old 35 to 44 years old 45 to 54 years old 55 to 64 years old 65 to 74 years old 35,712 40,322 17.4 19.7 40,937 30,355 17,246 13,321 20.0 14.8 8.4 75 years old and over 6.5 There are clear demographic differences in national crash rates. Example: Young people have better reaction time, but they also are more likely to have behaviors and attitudes that can place them in harms way more often. This is reflected when they set insurance rates for different age groups, partly based on their age, sex, and choice of vehicle. National Accident Rates, Fatal and Non-fatal by Age ONE WAY All Accidents Fatal Accidents (Rate Per 100,000 (Rate Per 100 Licensed Drivers) Licensed Drivers) Age Total 19 years old and under 16 years old 17 years old 18 years old 19 years old 28 54 54 48 56 54 9. 21 28 23 22 18 Fatal Crashes per 100 million vehicle-miles traveled Fatal Crashes per 100 million vehicle- miles traveled 20 to 24 years old 20 years old 21 years old 22 years old 23 years old 24 years old 51 52 54 53 45 15 21 16 14 13 12 Age Group 16-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 2.5 2.2 2 25 to 34 years old 35 to 44 years old 45 to 54 years old 55 to 64 years old 65 to 74 years old 75 years old and over 30 24 23 10 8 22 32 75 years old and over 7.7 Older drivers with slower reactions might be expected to be involved in more accidents, but the annual rates do not reflect this common notion. A A A A A This is because insurance companies provide and charge for coverage over a duration of time, typically one year. As the elderly tend to drive decidedly less far and frequently than their counterparts in younger age groups, they are involved in fewer accidents over the same period of time. If, however, an insurance company decided to charge its customers by the number of miles driven, it would want to know the accident rates for drivers over distance, not time. The rates reported in this table are based on the number of accidents within each age group over the same number of miles traveled. It does not consider how much time it takes a driver to travel that distance. Comparing accident rates from the perspective of fatalities per mile driven, it is clear that the elderly pose the greater risk to themselves than do teenagers. But considering the number of teen drivers on the roads at a given moment in time, it's almost certainly. fair to class them as the greater threat to motorists at large. Consider this: If you're hitching a ride cross-country and are faced with the choice of drivers, young or old, you're statistically better off with the teen: Grandpa will take twice as long to kill you first. SIGILLUM SISNI PENNSY HAMPSHIP S SEA