2024 Volume 80 Issue 3 Article ID: 22-00361
In Japan, the number of accidents because of older drivers has increased as a percentage of all drivers' ages, and this has become a social problem. The countermeasures such as the voluntary surrender of driver's licenses are policies that attribute the risk and responsibility for accidents to a single point in time and to a single individual. In addition, since the voluntary surrender of driver's licenses is an irreversible process, the longitudinal process is also a serious problem. In this study, we analyzed the relationship between accidents by older drivers and local environment in Ibaraki Prefecture, assuming that the driving frequency and driving skills of older drivers are influenced over time by differences in the usual driving environment, such as land use, road use, and congestion in each local environment, and that the resulting accidents also differ. As a result, characteristics common to many accidents involving elderly drivers were extracted. Significant correlations were also found between accidents involving personal injury and land use, road width, and other factors, suggesting the importance of accident countermeasures for older drivers according to regional characteristics.
