Most Americans aged 70 and older (78%) retained their driver licenses in 2008, up from 73% in 1997, according to the most recent data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. 
Over that period, fatal crashes involving drivers aged 70 and older declined by 37%. In addition, analysis of crashes between 1997 and 2005 show that all types of collisions — from those that resulted in property damage to those that involved serious injury or fatality — declined more among those aged 70 and older (down 17%) than among those aged 35-54 (down 5%). Older drivers are also more likely to survive a crash. In 1997, they were 3.5 times as likely as a driver aged 35-54 to sustain a fatal injury in a crash. By 2005, that ratio fell to 3.0. [Automotive]
Source: “Recent Trends In Older Driver Crashes,” Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Insurance Institute For Highway Safety (Highway Loss Data Institute), Adrian Lund, President, 1005 N. Glebe Rd., Arlington, VA 22201; 703-247-1500; publications@iihs.org; www.iihs.org.
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