Curious About Media Coverage Of Elderly Drivers

We've seen and heard a lot about car accidents involving older drivers this summer, along with the new push to test them more often.

But not everyone is happy about the coverage.

Some elderly drivers have killed people, others have smashed into buildings.

Gail from Leominster is Curious:

"Why media like WBZ is promoting discriminatory stories on the elderly by selectively airing elderly driving accidents?"

Gail says older drivers don't have high accident rates at all.

WBZ checked with the Registry of Motor Vehicles Monday to find out if that's true.

The reality is the number of crashes older drivers are involved in is relatively low.

Take a look at the numbers from the state:

• Drivers 70-years old and up account for about 11-percent of licensed drivers in Massachusetts, but only a little over five-percent of the crashes.

But when you look at drivers who are teenagers through age 29, it's a complete reversal.

• They make up 22-percent of licensed drivers, but account for nearly 32-percent of the crashes

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One of the reasons the crash rate for older drivers is relatively low is, on average, they drive fewer miles than younger people.

As for the media coverage, many of the recent accidents have been quite tragic, including the deaths of children and drivers crashing into buildings and injuring people.

So the accidents have had a big impact and have generated a lot of news.

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