Exploration of the Characteristics of Elderly-Driver-Involved Single-Vehicle Hit-Fixed-Object Crashes in Pennsylvania, USA

• Published in: Applied sciences Vol. 14; no. 19; p. 8625
• Main Authors: Hou, Xuerui, Zhang, Zihao, Su, Xue, Liu, Chenhui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-10-2024
• Subjects: Age; Aging; Automobile driving; elderly drivers; Fatalities; hit fixed object; logistic regression; Mortality; Older people; Physiology; Roads & highways; single-vehicle crash; Traffic accidents & safety; Vehicles; Pennsylvania; United States > US; California
• ISSN: 2076-3417; 2076-3417
• DOI: 10.3390/app14198625

With the acceleration of population aging, the elderly driving safety issue is increasingly prominent. Method: With the crash data of Pennsylvania from 2010 to 2019, this study exclusively discusses features of single-vehicle hit-fixed-object crashes (SVHFOCs), one of the most common and deadliest crash types for elderly drivers. Results: Firstly, we demonstrate that elderly drivers are much more likely to be injured and killed than young drivers in SVHFOCs by checking crash consequences. The descriptive analysis indicates that elderly drivers have very different crash features from young drivers. They are found to drive with more caution in many aspects, such as more low-speed local travels, fewer illegal behaviors, fewer nighttime travels, etc. Then, a logistic regression model is built to find the factors significantly influencing the severity of SVHFOCs from driver, vehicle, roadway, and environment. The estimation results indicate that female sex, not wearing a seatbelt, DUI, rural area, and SUV involvement tend to be associated with more severe SVHFOCs. Additionally, illumination, weather, and road type could also significantly affect crash severity. Especially, SVHFOCs in adverse weather, in dark conditions, and at intersections are found to be less severe, which implies that elderly drivers might drive more carefully in complex environments. Practical Applications: These findings are expected to provide new insights for agencies in formulating customized measures to prevent elderly drivers from being involved in SVHFOCs.