DRIVING RISKS ACCELERATE FOR SENIORS.

Byline: Michael Gougis Staff Writer

Frailer bones, mental lapses and medication make older drivers more likely to get into car crashes and nearly twice as likely to die from them as middle-age motorists, a long-term study released Wednesday found.

``In terms of fatalities per miles driven, seniors are the second-highest group, behind only teenagers,'' said Peter Kissinger, president and CEO of the American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety, which funded the report.

The study, conducted by the Texas Transportation Institute for the AAA, examined more than 4 million automobile crashes in Texas over 25 years.

Compared with drivers ages 55-64, those 65 and older were nearly twice as likely to die in a crash and drivers 85 and older were nearly four times more likely to die, the study found.

Americans 65 and older are the fastest-growing segment of the population with their numbers expected to double to about 71 million by 2030. The study suggests that research is needed to help seniors survive crashes, such as developing specially designed restraints for them.

``Pretty soon, there's going to be a lot more senior drivers on the road than there are today,'' said Pete Moraga, spokesman for the Insurance Information Network of California.

Research has long documented the higher risk among seniors to be involved in crashes as they age.

The new study showed mental lapses, medication or illnesses cause seniors to miss signs, fail to yield the right of way or make incorrect left-hand turns. Frailer bones and poorer health also makes it more difficult for an older driver to survive a crash, the study concludes.

High-profile incidents like last summer's tragedy at the Santa Monica Farmers Market - where an 86-year-old driver tore through a street crowded with pedestrians, killing 10 and injuring 63 - focused attention on the dangers posed by seniors with deteriorating driving skills.

The Los Angeles Police Department could not immediately provide statistics on traffic crashes involving seniors.

``We've been lucky, we haven't had the glaring incidents like the one in Santa Monica,'' said Sgt. Nels Jensen of the LAPD's Valley Traffic Division. ``We get the little things - people mistaking the accelerator for the brake and plowing into a storefront.''

However, the data showed that when seniors are involved in fatal crashes, they usually are the victims.

``The older the driver gets, the more likely they are to be in a fatal accident, but the accident is usually fatal to themselves,'' Moraga said.

And while the probability of a senior being ticketed or involved in a crash increases as they age, it remains far lower than that of a teen, statistics show.

The AAA suggests taking an active part in helping seniors assess whether they should get behind the wheel or not. They also call for more safety- oriented road designs, more clearly marked road signs and increased lighting.

Because of the way most California insurance companies structure their rates, seniors rarely see increases in their premiums as long as their driving records remain clean, Moraga said.

With the three most critical factors in calculating rates being driving record, miles driven per year and years of experience, seniors with clean records usually qualify for discounted insurance rates.

Michael Gougis, [phone]

michael.gougis(at)dailynews.com

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SOURCE: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety