People over 65 years of age are involved in more collisions: lateral, frontal and rear-end collisions
In 2021 there were 921 fatal accidents, in which
1,004 people died and another 3,728 were seriously injured, which means 97 fewer deaths (-9%) than in 2019 and the second best year in the historical series, only behind 2020, in which 870 people died, but
according to the DGT It is a statistic distorted by the pandemic.
The greatest decrease by age group occurs in the group of people over 65 years of age, with –25%. The accident rate of young people between 15 and 24 years of age increases, from 112 deaths in 2019 to 138 in 2021.
38% of the deceased were vulnerable users, that is, pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and users of personal mobility vehicles. Specifically, there have been 383 deaths, 61 less than the 444 in 2019.
According to the data handled by the
Statistics National InstituteIn the year 2030, 1 out of every 4 Spaniards will be over 65 years old.
With regard to the accident rate of this group, the DGT highlights that those over 64 years of age represent 19.6% of the Spanish population, 16.5% of the driver census and 26% of those killed in car accidents. traffic.
The accident pattern is different depending on the road in which the accident occurred. In interurban roads, people aged 65 and over died as drivers and on urban roads as pedestrians.
According
Alvaro Gomezdirector of
National Road Safety Observatory of the General Directorate of Traffic«in relation to the census, the difference of drivers over 65 years of age lies more in vulnerability than in the risk of involvement in an accident».
According to the data on deaths and hospitalizations after a road accident, people over 65 years of age are involved in more collisions – side, front-side and rear-end collisions, in more accidents during the week and during the day, and in more crashes at intersections. They also commit more violations for not wearing seat belts and the majority of victims are men. However,
have fewer frontal collisions and run off the road and commit fewer offenses related to speeding or alcohol or drug use.