Revisiting Older Drivers’ Risks of At-fault Motor Vehicle Collisions in Japan

Abstract

Background: In Japan, older drivers have been encouraged to surrender their driving licenses for traffic safety, despite the potential adverse social and health outcomes of driving cessation. We reconsidered such policies and social pressure by comparing the risk of at-fault motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) across the age groups of drivers.

Methods: Using the national data of police-reported MVCs that occurred between 2016 and 2020, we examined the number of at-fault MVCs per licensed driver (MVC rate) and the number of fatally and non-fatally injured persons per at-fault MVC by the sex and age groups of at-fault drivers.

Results: The MVC rate of older drivers was higher than that of middle-aged drivers but lower than that of young drivers. The number of injured persons among the collided counterparts (collided car occupants, motorcyclists, bicyclists, and pedestrians) per MVC caused by older drivers was not greater than that by drivers in other age groups. In fatal MVCs caused by older drivers, drivers themselves or their passengers tend to be killed rather than their collided counterparts. Overall, the results were mostly consistent between male and female drivers.

Conclusion: The risk of at-fault MVCs increased with the advancing age of drivers after middle age; however, this risk among older drivers did not exceed that among young drivers, without posing a high risk of injuries to their collided counterparts.