@article{ref1,
title="Roadway features associated with elderly drivers in motor vehicle crashes",
journal="Journal of trauma and acute care surgery",
year="2020",
author="Presser, Maxwell and Nwabuo, Adaobi and Soltani, Shamsi and Morris, Devan and Wier, Megan and Plevin, Rebecca E.",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="BACKGROUND: As the number of older US drivers has increased over the past decades,  so has the number of injuries, hospitalizations, and deaths from motor vehicle  crashes (MVCs) involving elderly drivers. We seek to identify personal,  environmental, and roadway features associated with increased crashes involving  elderly drivers. We hypothesize that elderly drivers are more likely to be involved  in MVCs at intersections with more complex signage and traffic flow. <br><br>METHODS: This  is a retrospective observational study using 2015-2019 police traffic crash reports  and a Department of Public Health database of built-environment variables from a  single urban center. Demographics and environmental/road features were compared for  vehicle-only MVCs involving elderly (≥ 65 years) and younger drivers. Chi-squared  and nonparametric tests were used to analyze 36,168 drivers involved in MVCs. <br><br>RESULTS: There were 2,575 (7.1%) elderly drivers involved in MVCs during the study  period. Left turns and all-way stop signs were associated with increased crash risk  among elderly drivers compared to younger drivers. Elderly-involved MVCs were less  likely to occur at intersections with left-turn restrictions, traffic lights, only  one-way streets, and bike lanes compared to MVCs with younger drivers. Elderly  drivers were more likely to be involved in MVCs on weekdays, less often intoxicated  at the time of the crash, and less frequently involved in fatal MVCs compared to  younger drivers. However, elderly drivers were more frequently the at-fault party,  especially after age 75. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Updates to roadway features have potential to  decrease injury and death from MVCs involving elderly adults. Left turn restrictions  or other innovative safety treatments at all-way stops or where left turns are  permitted may mitigate road crashes involving older adults. Education may increase  awareness of higher-risk driving tasks such as turning left, and driving  alternatives including public transportation/paratransit may offer alternate means  to maintain activities of daily living. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="2163-0755",
doi="10.1097/TA.0000000000003034",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/TA.0000000000003034"
}