Figure 1 indicates the trend of elderly drivers and pedestrians (aged 65 and above) killed or injured in traffic accidents. Broken down by mode of transportation, the percentage of four-wheeled-vehicle drivers has grown steadily, accounting for the largest portion among seniors' traffic accident deaths and injuries since 2000. Figure 2 shows traffic accident casualties of elderly drivers and pedestrians, as indexed to 1996 figures. In 2006, the increase in deaths and injuries of senior pedestrians and cyclists corresponded closely to the increase in elderly population (about 1.4 times), but that of four-wheeled-vehicle drivers grew significantly by around 2.4 times. With the number of elderly drivers growing by nearly 2.0 times, it is apparent that license holders, the number of which increased after World War II, have now grown old, resulting in the increase in elderly drivers' traffic accident casualties.
Viewed by the type of four-wheeled vehicle, as shown in Fig. 3, senior drivers' accident deaths and injuries occurred most often while driving regular passenger cars, followed by mini-trucks and mini-cars (both with less than 0.66-L engine displacement). The growth index from 1996 (Fig. 4) illustrates that regular-car drivers' deaths and injuries increased by 2.5 times in 2006, about the same as the growth among all four-wheeled-vehicle drivers.
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On the other hand, deaths and injuries while driving mini-cars increased by 5.3 times, significantly greater than the increase in casualties among drivers of all four-wheeled vehicles, whereas those driving mini-trucks only grew by 1.7 times. Incidentally, the percentage of elderly people among all drivers killed or injured while driving mini passenger cars (Fig. 5) increased by 2.9 points, representing a slightly smaller increase than the relevant ratio for all four-wheeled-vehicle drivers (up 3.7 points). The ratio of senior drivers among those killed or injured while driving mini-trucks, significantly large to begin with, rose noticeably by 9.4 points. Accident characteristics for each type of car are listed below, along with assumed factors in parentheses.
1) By type of four-wheeled vehicle, regular passenger cars represent the highest number involved in senior drivers' accidents resulting in casualties. (Regular passenger cars are the most commonly owned four-wheeled vehicle.)
2) Although fewer elderly drivers of mini-cars are killed or injured in accidents compared with regular cars, the number is growing steadily. (As many people are switching from regular cars to mini-cars, the number of drivers in this category is on the rise in all age groups.)
3) The percentage of elderly drivers is high among accident casualties involving mini-trucks. (The number of mini-truck drivers is decreasing in other age groups, as many have switched to mini passenger cars.
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