AAA FINDS CAR CRASHES MORE LIKELY TO KILL ELDERLY DRIVERS.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has released a study showing drivers in their late 50s and early 60s are among the nation's safest drivers but those 65 and older are likely to get into an accident.

As drivers get older they increasingly lose both perception and motor skills, the report noted.

Drivers older than 65 were 25 percent more likely to get into a crash than middle-aged drivers, while drivers older than 85 were 50 percent more likely to get into a crash.

The study also found the elderly were more likely to get into crashes while turning left, when drivers often must make quick judgments about whether to stop or go.

Drivers older than 85 were nearly four times as likely to die in a crash as middle-aged drivers, the report found. Seniors statistically are at greatest risk when involved in crashes, said Bella Dinh-Zarr, director of traffic safety.

"The common misconception is that older drivers are a danger to others, but the reality is older drivers are a danger to themselves," she said.

"As a country, we should really be thinking of ways to help older drivers."

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