United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

Older Driver Safety

Older drivers face unique safety concerns including vision, reflexes, and physical fitness. We have materials to help guide the discussion with older drivers, and children and caregivers of aging adults.

Many assets are available in English and Spanish. Share this information with partner organizations to help spread the message across communities.

A reminder, Older Driver Safety Awareness Week is December 1-5, 2025 – a good opportunity to increase messaging.

Facts

Older population facts, stats and reports from NHTSA's National Center for Statistics and Analysis

 Get More Facts & Reports
  • In 2023 there were 7,891 people 65 and older killed in traffic crashes in the United States, accounting for 19% of all traffic fatalities.
  • From 2022 to 2023 there was a 2% decrease in the number of people 65 and older killed in traffic crashes.
  • In 2023 there were 59.2 million people — 18% of the total U.S. population — who were 65 and older.
  • The older population traffic fatality rate per 100,000 population in 2023 was 13.32, a decrease of 5% from 13.96 in 2022.
  • Older female drivers accounted for 24% of all female driver fatalities in 2023, compared with 17% for the older-male-driver fatalities.
  • Among the older population, the traffic fatality rate per 100,000 population in 2023 was highest for the 80-to-84-and-older age group.
  • Older drivers made up 22% of all licensed drivers in 2023, compared to 18% in 2014.
  • In 2023 most traffic fatalities in crashes involving older drivers occurred during the daytime (70%), on weekdays (68%), and were in multi-vehicle crashes (68%). These percentages are higher compared to all fatalities (46% were during the daytime, 58% were on weekdays, and 46% were in multi-vehicle crashes).
  • Among passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in 2023, when restraint use was known, those occupants 65 and older were restrained 70% of the time, compared to 45% for those occupants under 65.
  • 70% of older pedestrian fatalities in 2023 occurred at non intersection locations, compared to 85% for those under 65.

    For facts translated in Spanish, visit NHTSA.gov/Espanol. 

Talking Points

We've prepared talking points related to older drivers. After downloading, we encourage you to add local stats and facts to the document. Some talking points are for an older driver audience and others are for families and caregivers.

Earned Media

We've produced a sample news release and drafted documents that can be used as a newsletter, article, column or part of other content.

Social Media

Sample social media posts are available for you to use on your various social media platforms, including Facebook, X and Instagram.

Image Library

Images often help boost content engagement, especially on social media posts. We offer a variety of traffic safety images for free.

Videos

Keeping Independent For practitioners, professionals
Overcome Concerns, Occupational Therapy

Older Driver Safety Awareness Week

Older Driver Safety Awareness Week is December 1-5, 2025, and you'll see increased communication related to older drivers. You can use any of the material available on this page to increase your older driver messaging.

If using earned media material, you can customize the news release and newsletter to reference Older Driver Safety Awareness Week.

For Medical Professionals

Driving-Related Fact Sheet For Medical Professionals

Additional Resources