AGING AND FATAL ACCIDENTS IN MALE AND FEMALE DRIVERS

The effect of aging on fatal accident characteristics of male and fema le drivers was investigated using Finnish fatal accident case study ma terial from the period 1984-1990. Age-bound changes bl accident charac teristics (e.g., increase of at-fault accidents and of collisions in i ntersections) appeared in both sexes bat seemed to affect female drive rs at an earlier age and to a higher degree. When the sexes differed i n accident characteristics, those of female drivers were more like the ones typically found in older drivers. The female drivers were also b oth quantitatively and qualitatively less experienced as drivers than their male counterparts. Thus, the lower resistance of women to the ef fects of aging on driving may be explained by their lower skill level. In future cohorts of old drivers, decrease of sex differences in expe rience will presumably attenuate the sex differences in accident chara cteristics.