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The amount of elderly drivers on the road is higher than ever.
According to the U.S Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), people over 50 years old accounted for nearly half of all U.S. drivers in 2013, more than ever before. The fastest growing driver demographic is the 85 and older group, which has nearly doubled from 1.76 million in 1998 to 3.48 million in 2013.
Based on these numbers, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and his “Beyond Traffic” 30-year framework for the future of transportation predicts that a 77 percent increase among drivers over 65 will occur by 2045.
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“Knowing that older drivers are one of our fastest-growing populations helps us realize the importance of transportation investment – especially for research,” said Secretary Foxx. “In the decades ahead, our roads will serve even more older drivers – making it critical that we invest in our nation’s infrastructure and use state-of-the-art research to ensure the road system is ready to meet their needs.”
