New Research Shows Louisiana is Safest State in America for Older Drivers

As we all know, usually, Louisiana ranks at the bottom of nearly all the "good" lists. But here's an outlier of sorts, as new research shows that Louisiana is the safest state in the United States for older drivers.

A new study has revealed that Louisiana is the safest state for drivers over the age of 65.

The research was carried out by personal injury law firm Bader Scott, as they analyzed data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) from 2017-2021. From this information, they were able to determine which states have the lowest percentage of elderly deaths in road accidents.

Louisiana had the lowest rate at 13.57% of deaths over the age of 65. Louisiana had a total of 7,743 deaths due to road accidents, with older drivers representing 1,051 of those deaths.

By contrast, Maine was worst at 24.58% of deaths over the age of 65.

The overall number of people over 65 who died in crashes in the U.S. between 2017 and 2021 amounted to an overwhelming 65,291, making it the age bracket with second-highest amount of road fatalities, with 25-30-year-olds taking the top spot with 67,211 deaths.

“Older drivers, defined as citizens over the age 65 in this study, are some of the most at-risk age groups on the roads," commented Seth Bader from Bader Scott. "As you increase with age, driving can become more challenging due to certain health aspects like a decrease in vision quality and slower reaction times. If you plan on driving on the roads, you must take the correct precautions and stay vigilant of other drivers.”