Perception of traffic risks for older and younger adults

The study examined differences in the perception of traffic risks for older and younger adults. Thirty-four younger participants (mean age 24.7 years) and 30 older participants (mean age 70 years) estimated the number of younger and older people (out of 100,000 people) that were injured in car and pedestrian crashes in a recent year. Both age groups viewed older adults’ risks in pedestrian crashes as higher than those of younger adults, and saw older adults’ risks in car crashes as identical to the risks for younger adults. Both age groups assessed the risks for their own group quite accurately, but erred in their assessment of the risk for the other group. Older participants tended to overestimate the risk for younger adults, and younger participants tended to underestimate the risk for older adults. These results point to the need to enhance awareness of the age-related increase in traffic risk, which could potentially promote more considerate driving behavior.