Older drivers in Saarland: number of accidents are increasing dramatically!
Older drivers in Saarland: number of accidents are increasing dramatically!
In Saarland, more and more senior citizens are involved in serious traffic accidents. According to the current figures of the overall association of the German Insurance Industry (GDV), the accident sharing of drivers aged 75 and over increased by 14 percent to around 250 in 2023. In contrast to a general decline in the accident sharing of car drivers by 24 percent between 3800 between 2013 and 2023.
It is particularly alarming that in Saarland two out of three seniors from the age of 75, which were involved in an accident, were considered the cause themselves. In 2023 it was 71 percent, which resulted in 176 cases in which seniors were the main cause of an accident. This increase reflects a trend that can also be observed nationwide.
The background of accident development
Despite a decline in total accidents, older drivers are increasingly dependent on the car, especially in rural areas where public transport options are limited. Statistically speaking, older people are less likely to be involved in traffic accidents with personal injury, as working people usually travel more often. Nevertheless, it turns out that older drivers are usually the main causers even in the accidents.
In 2023, 77 percent of the accidents in which drivers from 75 years of age from 75 were involved themselves. This means a significant increase compared to previous years. The number of main causes in this age group rose to 16,468, which corresponds to an increase of 28 percent since 2013
The growing driving license possession
The increase in driver's license owners over the age of 75, which rose from 2.5 million in 2015 to almost 5.9 million in 2024, is also remarkable. In particular, the group of older women with a driver's license grew from 700,000 to 1.9 million. This increase makes it clear that older people take part in road traffic more actively, despite the age -related risks, which are associated with declining attention, concentration and reaction speed.To support this age group, driving schools offer refresher courses and feedback trips. These trips enable older drivers to receive confidential feedback from experts after a 45-minute drive to optimize their driving style. One advantage of these feedback trips is that you have no consequences for the driver's license, which increases acceptance.
In addition, the topic of traffic safety for seniors was also treated in the current SR Info Rundschau . While some cities offer the seniors who give their driver's license free tickets for local public transport, the topic of mandatory health checks for older drivers is still controversial, but rejected by the EU Parliament.
With these developments it becomes clear that in addition to the need for traffic education, a comprehensive approach to ensure the safety of older road users is also required.
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