Journal of Gerontology: MEDICAL SCIENCES

AMONG licensed drivers in the United States, about 15 % are persons age d 65 and older ( 1). More than 5000 older persons died in traffi c accidents in 2009 alone ( 1). In order to reduce traffi c fatalities in older persons, states have implemented various public policies including: mandatory in-person license renewal, vision test require-ments, on-road test evaluations, and shortened license expi-ration time intervals. The impact on reducing traffi c fatalities has been mixed. Although the traffi c fatality rate among older drivers declined at a faster rate than for middle-aged drivers from 1997 to 2008 ( 2), a nation-wide traffi c fatality analysis found an association between in-person license renewal and reduced fatality rates only among the oldest old drivers ( 3). However, age-based driver license renewal policies have the potential disadvantage of reducing the spatial mobilit