Going forward, it is also important to perform analysis on regional trends such as in urban
and rural areas as well as on older female drivers and engage in widespread disseminationof useful information on the risks associated with older drivers so that they can contemplate
the possession of their drivers’ licenses.
(Yasushi Nishida, Masahide Honda)〒101-0064 東京都千代田区猿楽町2-7-8 住友水道橋ビル8階
TEL 03-5577-3977(代表) FAX 03-5577-3980

ITARDA INFORMATION no.109●E メール koho@itarda.or.jp

つくば 交通事故調査事務所

Trend in no. of voluntary surrender of driver’s license by age(Nationwide total of men and women;
Source: Driver license Statistics, National Police Agency, Japan)

1 Introduction・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・P2
2

75 years, 78 years and 81 years: Junctures
to contemplate the possession of driver s license・
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3 Indicators to express accident and violation characteristics・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・P3
Drivers with high rate of license renewal are

4 those without accident records but with violation records・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・P4
Voluntary surrender of license on upsurge since 2012;

5 The ratio of voluntary surrender of drivers over 75 years

with accident records increases remarkably・
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Driving frequency of license-renewing drivers is high,6
but this declines with age・
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Accident driver rate of drivers over 75 years who voluntarily
7
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8 With age, the ratio of voluntary surrender of license after its renewal increases・・・・P7

9 Conclusion・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・P8

2013●ウェブサイト http://www.itarda.or.jp/

2012

公益財団法人 交通事故総合分析センター

0

2011

FAX 03-5577-3980

20,000
2010

TEL 03-5577-3973

40,000

2009

渉外事業課

60,0002008

イタルダインフォメーションに関するお問い合せ先Under 65 yrs

2007*The downloadable PDF file posted on our webpage has already been corrected.

65-69 yrs

80,000

2006

0.59
0.47
0.45
0.00
0.63
0.00

70-74 yrs

2005

5.1
2.1
2.2
0.7
1.6
1.5

75-79 yrs (75 yrs or older up to year 2004)
100,000

2004

Oamishirasato city
Shisui town
Sakae town
Kozaki town
Tako town
Tohnosho town

80-84 yrs

120,000

2003

1.98
0.20
0.47
0.00
1.53
0.00

Fatalities
per 0.1 million
population

1

85 yrs or older

2002

1.5
5.1
2.1
2.2
0.7
1.6

Name of village/ Population(0.1 million)
town/city

27

住 友 水 道 橋 ビル８ 階

Oamishirasato city
Shisui town
Sakae town
Kozaki town
Tako town
Tohnosho town

Fatalities
per 0.1 million
population?

About 0.14 Mn drivers
surrendered theirlicenses in 2013!

Total (up to year 2001)

140,000

2001

Name of village/ Population(0.1 million)
town/city

We apologize for the error in ITARDA Information No. 108
and would like to correct the same as given on the right.

(Correct) Chiba prefecture

160,000

2000<Our apology and correction>(Incorrect) Chiba prefecture

Renewal characteristics ofelderly male driverʼs license holders

1999<Reference materials>
1) Japan Safe Driving Center: “Investigative research on skills etc. required for safe driving, vol I-IV; Investigative research
report from FY 2006-2009.”
2) Japan Safe Driving Center: “Investigative research on accident and violation characteristics, their correlation with accident
rates thereafter and their utilization plan, vol I & II; Investigative research report for FY 2010 and 2011.”lSpeciafeature1998<Supplementary notes>
This issue of ITARDA Information is a partial compilation of the ongoing “Research on the Evaluation Method of Traffic Safety
Policies” jointly carried out by the Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis (ITARDA) and the public interest
incorporated foundation International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences (IATSS), that started in 2014.

交通事故分析レポート No.109

No.109

公益財団法人 交通事故総合分析センター〒101 0064 東 京 都 千 代 田 区 猿 楽 町 ２ ７ ８■Provide information to license-renewing drivers
Some older male drivers do not wait till the next renewal date and voluntarily surrender theirlicenses after they have renewed their licenses. Although such rate is low, it increases withage (See Fig.9). It is therefore important to provide them with objective information about
accident and violation records and their correlation with accident characteristics thereafter.
This could be an effective way of aiding them to decide on their own whether or not theyshould renew their licenses, based on such objective information.

ITARDA INFORMATION

No. of voluntary surrenderers■Characteristics of license-renewing or voluntary surrendering of driver's license○ The driving frequency of license-renewing drivers is high (See Fig.5).
○ After 75 years, the accident driver rate increases in the year previous to surrender oflicense for voluntary surrenderers (See Fig. 6).
Focusing on these two trends may enable us to discuss the cut-off period, conditions etc.
of voluntary surrender as well as the possession of driver’s license by older drivers.
○ In the case of drivers who have committed violations, correlation with voluntary surrenderof driver’s license is not seen (See Fig.8) as opposed to drivers with accident records.
However, there is data (“reference materials” given below) available indicating that therate of violators getting involved in accidents is high, which makes it important to haveolder violators consider voluntary surrender of their licenses.

ITARDA INFORMATION■Renewing driver’s license
The trend of license-holders by age indicates that the rate of older drivers of 75 yrs, 78 yrs,
81 yrs and 84 yrs in the age gap of 3 years not renewing their driver’s licenses is high.
Targeting the education of older drivers in this renewal period is expected to yield better
results.

交通事故分析レポート

9 Conclusion

イタルダ インフォメーションlSpeciafeatureRenewal characteristics of elderly male driver's license holders

ITARDA INFORMATION no.109

1 Introduction

3 Indicators to express accident and violation characteristics

Despite the decline in traffic accidents year by year, the ratio of older drivers involved as the primary
party in accidents is on the rise. The physical abilities of older drivers may deteriorate to the point thatdriving safety may be seriously affected and it is important to give it a thought as to how long they could
continue driving safely. In course of their habitual driving or through suggestions from family members,
many older drivers come to think of voluntarily surrendering their driver’s licenses. By presenting data tosuch people, on the accident characteristics etc. of senior drivers who continued driving and those who
gave up their car keys either voluntarily or by disqualification, may form one of the bases for deciding thepossession of driver’s license by older drivers.
The purpose of driving vehicles by senior citizens may vary with age, locality and the development inpublic transportation. Therefore in this issue, we have focused our analysis on the older male drivers
across Japan.
The term “Voluntary surrender” refers to the act of applying the revocation of one’s driver’s license to the
Public Safety Commission for reasons such as decreased confidence in one’s own driving skill or when
the chances of driving has decreased over time; whereas the term “disqualification” refers to theautomatic revocation of driver’s license when it is not renewed within the deadline.

In this section, the following four types of indicators are used to consider the road usage characteristics,
accident and violation characteristics, etc. of license-renewing drivers.

75 years, 78 years and 81 years: Junctures
2 to contemplate the possession of driver’s license

No. of license-holders

Decline rate of license-holders (%)

Fig.1 shows the rate of decline of licensed older male drivers (rate of decline of valid license-holders in
the end of the relevant year as compared to the end of the previous year) who were born in 1928, byage. Apparently, a peak can be seen in every 3 years at 75, 78, 81 and 84 years. As seen in Table 1, thismay be due to the fact that although the number of drivers due for renewing their licenses at 75 years
has increased and similar trend is expected subsequently after every 3 years, there were many older
drivers who did not renew their licenses. This trend was observed in older drivers who were born after
1923 regardless of their
500,000
20
gender or the locality they
Peaks seen inhailed from.
decline rate every 3
Depopulation may also be
400,000
years from 75 yrs
thought of as a reason for the
decline in licensed older
drivers. However, in the case
300,000
of population decline since no10such peak is observed after
every 3 years, it may be
200,000
deduced that with age, theratio of older drivers not
100,000
renewing their licenses at theNo. of license-holders
due date has increased,
Decline rate of license-holders (%)
suggesting that this may be00
the point of time to
1998
2003
2008
2013
contemplate the possession(70yrs)(75yrs)(80yrs)(85yrs)of one’s driver’s license.
Fig.1 Trend in the number and decline rate oflicense-holders (Nationwide: Men born in 1928)
Table 1 Validity of license of older drivers
Category of driver
Drivers without violation record orwith minor violation record
Drivers with violation records etc.
ITARDA INFORMATION no.109■Indicator for driving frequency : Quasi-Induced Exposure
Vehicle-kilometers is one of the common indicators used to denote driving frequency. However, thedriver groups are so varied that adequate data had not been collected in the past. Partly for this reason,
the Quasi-Induced Exposure, derived from the traffic accident data used for research purposes in thepast is taken into account. Here it would mean the rate of drivers in the subject driver group involved
without any liability as secondary party in vehicle-to-vehicle accidents in one year. The driving frequency
is almost proportional to this value.
■Rate of drivers involved as primary parties in one year : Accident driver rate
The rate of drivers among the subject driver groups involved as primary parties in accidents in one year
(accident driver rate), is used.
■Rate of accidents with respect to driving frequency: Relative accident rate
Driving frequency, as well as the driving method, is influential on the rate of accidents caused in one
year. To understand the accident hazards of the driving method itself, here, the rate of primary parties tothat of non-liable secondary parties in vehicle-to-vehicle accidents (relative accident rate) has been usedas the rate of accidents with the driving frequency. This indicator is equivalent to the rate of accidents
with respect to vehicle-kilometers.
■Rate of drivers penalized for violations : Violation driver rate
The rate of drivers in the subject driver group penalized for committing traffic violations in one year
(violation driver rate) is used.
The first three indicators mentioned above are related to one another in the following manner.
Rate of drivers involved
as primary parties in one year
(Accident driver rate)

Table 2 Rate of accidents in 2011 (driving mopeds or beyond)Men
65-69yrs

All ages

All ages

3,873,881

3,320,585

45,448,263

35,767,003

B: No. of primary parties

32,541

27,776447,443

208,503

C: No. of non-liable secondary parties

18,834

9,291

205,794

121,147

0.49
0.84
1.73

0.28
0.84
2.99

0.45

0.34

0.98

0.58

2.17

1.72

Validity

Age at next renewal

70 years

5 years

75 years

71 years

4 years

Quasi-Induced Exposure (%) (C/A)

72 years or older

3 years

75 years
3rd birthday

3rd birthday

Relative accident rate (B/C)

3 years

Women

45-49 yrs

Exact age at renewal→ next due at 75 yrs)

×

Rate of accidents withrespect to driving frequency(Relative accident rate)<Example>
As seen in Table 2, the accident driver rate for male drivers in the age group of [65-69 yrs] and [45-49
yrs] in 2011 stands at 0.84% alike. However, the driving frequency (Quasi-Induced Exposure) of male
drivers aged [65-69 yrs] is about 60% (0.28/0.49) of the [45-49 yrs] group, whereas the rate of accidents
with respect to driving frequency (Relative accident rate) is 1.7 times (2.99/1.73) higher than the drivergroup of [45-49yrs]. In other words, the relative accident rate is higher for older drivers which can be
attributable to the decline in their physical abilities and deterioration in their driving skills.
The characteristics of accidents can thus be reviewed in a multi-faceted manner with these three typesof accident rates.

A: No. of drivers(Renewal at 72yrs＝

Indicator for
driving frequency(Quasi-Induced Exposure)

Accident driver rate (%) (B/A)

ITARDA INFORMATION no.109

lSpeciafeatureContemplating the possession of driver’s license by older male drivers

ITARDA INFORMATION no.109

1 Introduction

3 Indicators to express accident and violation characteristics

Despite the decline in traffic accidents year by year, the ratio of older drivers involved as the primary
party in accidents is on the rise. The physical abilities of older drivers may deteriorate to the point thatdriving safety may be seriously affected and it is important to give it a thought as to how long they could
continue driving safely. In course of their habitual driving or through suggestions from family members,
many older drivers come to think of voluntarily surrendering their driver’s licenses. By presenting data tosuch people, on the accident characteristics etc. of senior drivers who continued driving and those who
gave up their car keys either voluntarily or by disqualification, may form one of the bases for deciding thepossession of driver’s license by older drivers.
The purpose of driving vehicles by senior citizens may vary with age, locality and the development inpublic transportation. Therefore in this issue, we have focused our analysis on the older male drivers
across Japan.
The term “Voluntary surrender” refers to the act of applying the revocation of one’s driver’s license to the
Public Safety Commission for reasons such as decreased confidence in one’s own driving skill or when
the chances of driving has decreased over time; whereas the term “disqualification” refers to theautomatic revocation of driver’s license when it is not renewed within the deadline.

In this section, the following four types of indicators are used to consider the road usage characteristics,
accident and violation characteristics, etc. of license-renewing drivers.

75 years, 78 years and 81 years: Junctures
2 to contemplate the possession of driver’s license

No. of license-holders

Decline rate of license-holders (%)

Fig.1 shows the rate of decline of licensed older male drivers (rate of decline of valid license-holders in
the end of the relevant year as compared to the end of the previous year) who were born in 1928, byage. Apparently, a peak can be seen in every 3 years at 75, 78, 81 and 84 years. As seen in Table 1, thismay be due to the fact that although the number of drivers due for renewing their licenses at 75 years
has increased and similar trend is expected subsequently after every 3 years, there were many older
drivers who did not renew their licenses. This trend was observed in older drivers who were born after
1923 regardless of their
500,000
20
gender or the locality they
Peaks seen inhailed from.
decline rate every 3
Depopulation may also be
400,000
years from 75 yrs
thought of as a reason for the
decline in licensed older
drivers. However, in the case
300,000
of population decline since no10such peak is observed after
every 3 years, it may be
200,000
deduced that with age, theratio of older drivers not
100,000
renewing their licenses at theNo. of license-holders
due date has increased,
Decline rate of license-holders (%)
suggesting that this may be00
the point of time to
1998
2003
2008
2013
contemplate the possession(70yrs)(75yrs)(80yrs)(85yrs)of one’s driver’s license.
Fig.1 Trend in the number and decline rate oflicense-holders (Nationwide: Men born in 1928)
Table 1 Validity of license of older drivers
Category of driver
Drivers without violation record orwith minor violation record
Drivers with violation records etc.
ITARDA INFORMATION no.109■Indicator for driving frequency : Quasi-Induced Exposure
Vehicle-kilometers is one of the common indicators used to denote driving frequency. However, thedriver groups are so varied that adequate data had not been collected in the past. Partly for this reason,
the Quasi-Induced Exposure, derived from the traffic accident data used for research purposes in thepast is taken into account. Here it would mean the rate of drivers in the subject driver group involved
without any liability as secondary party in vehicle-to-vehicle accidents in one year. The driving frequency
is almost proportional to this value.
■Rate of drivers involved as primary parties in one year : Accident driver rate
The rate of drivers among the subject driver groups involved as primary parties in accidents in one year
(accident driver rate), is used.
■Rate of accidents with respect to driving frequency: Relative accident rate
Driving frequency, as well as the driving method, is influential on the rate of accidents caused in one
year. To understand the accident hazards of the driving method itself, here, the rate of primary parties tothat of non-liable secondary parties in vehicle-to-vehicle accidents (relative accident rate) has been usedas the rate of accidents with the driving frequency. This indicator is equivalent to the rate of accidents
with respect to vehicle-kilometers.
■Rate of drivers penalized for violations : Violation driver rate
The rate of drivers in the subject driver group penalized for committing traffic violations in one year
(violation driver rate) is used.
The first three indicators mentioned above are related to one another in the following manner.
Rate of drivers involved
as primary parties in one year
(Accident driver rate)

Table 2 Rate of accidents in 2011 (driving mopeds or beyond)Men
65-69yrs

All ages

All ages

3,873,881

3,320,585

45,448,263

35,767,003

B: No. of primary parties

32,541

27,776447,443

208,503

C: No. of non-liable secondary parties

18,834

9,291

205,794

121,147

0.49
0.84
1.73

0.28
0.84
2.99

0.45

0.34

0.98

0.58

2.17

1.72

Validity

Age at next renewal

70 years

5 years

75 years

71 years

4 years

Quasi-Induced Exposure (%) (C/A)

72 years or older

3 years

75 years
3rd birthday

3rd birthday

Relative accident rate (B/C)

3 years

Women

45-49 yrs

Exact age at renewal→ next due at 75 yrs)

×

Rate of accidents withrespect to driving frequency(Relative accident rate)<Example>
As seen in Table 2, the accident driver rate for male drivers in the age group of [65-69 yrs] and [45-49
yrs] in 2011 stands at 0.84% alike. However, the driving frequency (Quasi-Induced Exposure) of male
drivers aged [65-69 yrs] is about 60% (0.28/0.49) of the [45-49 yrs] group, whereas the rate of accidents
with respect to driving frequency (Relative accident rate) is 1.7 times (2.99/1.73) higher than the drivergroup of [45-49yrs]. In other words, the relative accident rate is higher for older drivers which can be
attributable to the decline in their physical abilities and deterioration in their driving skills.
The characteristics of accidents can thus be reviewed in a multi-faceted manner with these three typesof accident rates.

A: No. of drivers(Renewal at 72yrs＝

Indicator for
driving frequency(Quasi-Induced Exposure)

Accident driver rate (%) (B/A)

ITARDA INFORMATION no.109

lSpeciafeatureRenewal characteristics of elderly male driver's license holders

No accident; no violation
No accident; violation

Fig. 4 shows the ratio of male drivers who
voluntarily surrendered their drivers’ licenses
between 2011 and 2012 by accident/violation
experience in the last three years. Apparently,
the ratio of voluntary surrenderers is high forthe ‘no accident; no violation’ group ( ) for
drivers upto 75 years, as compared to othergroups. However, the ratio is high for the‘accident; no violation’ group ( ) for drivers
beyond 75 years, and for the ‘accident;
violation’ group ( ) for drivers beyond 80
years. The ratio is minimum for the ‘noaccident; violation’ group ( ) for drivers
between 70 and 85 years.

Ratio of voluntary surrenderers (%)

Fig.2 shows the ratio of license-renewing
male drivers by accident/violation experiencein the last three years and driver age.
Whereas the ratio has risen temporarily for
drivers of 75 years for the ‘no accident; noviolation’ group (depicted by ’ in the figure),
the license-renewing ratio has gradually
declined with the increase in age for allgroups. Also, the ratio is maximum for the ‘ noaccident; violation’ group ( ) and minimum
for the ‘no accident; no violation’ group ( ) for
drivers upto 75 years and for the ‘accident; noviolation’ group ( ) for drivers over 75 years.

Rate of license-renewing drivers (%)

Drivers with high rate of license renewal are those
without accident records but with violation records
No accident; no violation
No accident; violation
Accident; no violation
Accident; violation

Accident; no violation
Accident; violation

Age (years)
Fig.4 Ratio of voluntary surrenderers of license
by accident/violation experience and age

Age (years)
Fig.2 Ratio of license-renewing drivers byaccident/violation experience in thelast three years and driver age(Ratio of voluntary surrenderers in 2011-2012 in total male drivers
due for renewing their licenses in 2012)(Ratio of license-holders who renewed their licenses in 2012 due for renewal in that year)

No. of voluntary surrenderers

Fig. 3 shows the trend in the number of voluntary surrenderers of driver’s license by age. This number
has gradually increased ever since the issue of driver’s license history certificate in 2002 but has
increased sharply after the validity status of the history certificate has been changed to permanent inaccordance with the revised Road Traffic Law enforced on April 1, 2012, particularly in the age group of
75 years and older.
Total (upto 2001)
85 yrs or over
80-84 yrs
75-79 yrs (75 yrs or older up to 2004)
70-74 yrs
65-69 yrs
Under 65 yrs

Driving frequency of license-renewing drivers
is high, but this declines with age
Fig. 5 shows the driving frequency(Quasi-Induced Exposure) of male drivers
registered in the end of 2012 who renewed
their licenses, by age. Apparently, the driving
frequency of license-renewing drivers ( ) is
more than that of drivers whose licenses wererevoked due to non-renewal, suggesting thatdrivers who wished to continue driving
renewed their licenses. However, even for the
license- renewing drivers, the driving
frequency (Quasi-Induced Exposure) has
declined with age.

Quasi-Induced Exposure (%)

Voluntary surrender of license on upsurge since 2012;
The ratio of voluntary surrender of drivers over 75 years
with accident records increases remarkably

Maleaveragefor allages
0.45%
Renewed
RevokedAge (years)
Fig.5 Quasi-Induced Exposureof license-renewing and license-revoked driversby age (male; registered in the end of 2012)
Fig.3 Trend in no. of voluntary surrenderers of driver’s license by age(Nationwide total of men and women; Driver License Statistics; National Police Agency, Japan)(Note: The accident and violation records of 2011, one year prior to 2012,
the year of renewal or probable renewal of licenses, are used
to estimate the accident or violation driver ratio in figures 5 to 8.)lSpeciafeatureContemplating the possession of driver’s license by older male drivers

No accident; no violation
No accident; violation

Fig. 4 shows the ratio of male drivers who
voluntarily surrendered their drivers’ licenses
between 2011 and 2012 by accident/violation
experience in the last three years. Apparently,
the ratio of voluntary surrenderers is high forthe ‘no accident; no violation’ group ( ) for
drivers upto 75 years, as compared to othergroups. However, the ratio is high for the‘accident; no violation’ group ( ) for drivers
beyond 75 years, and for the ‘accident;
violation’ group ( ) for drivers beyond 80
years. The ratio is minimum for the ‘noaccident; violation’ group ( ) for drivers
between 70 and 85 years.

Ratio of voluntary surrenderers (%)

Fig.2 shows the ratio of license-renewing
male drivers by accident/violation experiencein the last three years and driver age.
Whereas the ratio has risen temporarily for
drivers of 75 years for the ‘no accident; noviolation’ group (depicted by ’ in the figure),
the license-renewing ratio has gradually
declined with the increase in age for allgroups. Also, the ratio is maximum for the ‘ noaccident; violation’ group ( ) and minimum
for the ‘no accident; no violation’ group ( ) for
drivers upto 75 years and for the ‘accident; noviolation’ group ( ) for drivers over 75 years.

Rate of license-renewing drivers (%)

Drivers with high rate of license renewal are those
without accident records but with violation records
No accident; no violation
No accident; violation
Accident; no violation
Accident; violation

Accident; no violation
Accident; violation

Age (years)
Fig.4 Ratio of voluntary surrenderers of license
by accident/violation experience and age

Age (years)
Fig.2 Ratio of license-renewing drivers byaccident/violation experience in thelast three years and driver age(Ratio of voluntary surrenderers in 2011-2012 in total male drivers
due for renewing their licenses in 2012)(Ratio of license-holders who renewed their licenses in 2012 due for renewal in that year)

No. of voluntary surrenderers

Fig. 3 shows the trend in the number of voluntary surrenderers of driver’s license by age. This number
has gradually increased ever since the issue of driver’s license history certificate in 2002 but has
increased sharply after the validity status of the history certificate has been changed to permanent inaccordance with the revised Road Traffic Law enforced on April 1, 2012, particularly in the age group of
75 years and older.
Total (upto 2001)
85 yrs or over
80-84 yrs
75-79 yrs (75 yrs or older up to 2004)
70-74 yrs
65-69 yrs
Under 65 yrs

Driving frequency of license-renewing drivers
is high, but this declines with age
Fig. 5 shows the driving frequency(Quasi-Induced Exposure) of male drivers
registered in the end of 2012 who renewed
their licenses, by age. Apparently, the driving
frequency of license-renewing drivers ( ) is
more than that of drivers whose licenses wererevoked due to non-renewal, suggesting thatdrivers who wished to continue driving
renewed their licenses. However, even for the
license- renewing drivers, the driving
frequency (Quasi-Induced Exposure) has
declined with age.

Quasi-Induced Exposure (%)

Voluntary surrender of license on upsurge since 2012;
The ratio of voluntary surrender of drivers over 75 years
with accident records increases remarkably

Maleaveragefor allages
0.45%
Renewed
RevokedAge (years)
Fig.5 Quasi-Induced Exposureof license-renewing and license-revoked driversby age (male; registered in the end of 2012)
Fig.3 Trend in no. of voluntary surrenderers of driver’s license by age(Nationwide total of men and women; Driver License Statistics; National Police Agency, Japan)(Note: The accident and violation records of 2011, one year prior to 2012,
the year of renewal or probable renewal of licenses, are used
to estimate the accident or violation driver ratio in figures 5 to 8.)lSpeciafeatureRenewal characteristics of elderly male driver's license holders

ITARDA INFORMATION no.109

Accident driver rate of drivers over 75 years
7 who voluntarily surrender their licenses, is highWith age, the ratio of voluntary surrender
8 of license after its renewal increases

Fig. 6 shows the accident driver rate of older
male drivers who renewed their licenses andotherwise (license revoked and voluntarily
surrendered) during the one-year period of
2011, by age. The rate has not increased withage for license- renewing drivers ( ) until theage of 81 years. However, the rate has
increased for voluntary surrenderers ( ) after
75 years as compared to the license-renewing
drivers, indicating that experiencing an
accident may have influenced some drivers tocontemplate their possession of drivers’
licenses.

Physical abilities, driving frequency and thelike may be thought as the factors consideredby older drivers at the time of license renewal.
Nevertheless, many older drivers may be in
two minds whether they should renew theirlicenses or decide otherwise. There are
drivers who within two years of renewing
decide to voluntarily surrender their licenses,
without waiting for the next due date ofrenewal. Fig.9 shows that this ratio has
increased with age.

2.0
1.5

RenewedVoluntarily surrendered
RevokedMale
averagefor all
ages
0.98%

1.0
0.5
0.0

70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85

Age (years)
Fig. 6 Accident driver rateof license-renewing drivers etc. by age(male; registered in the end of 2012)20
18

Relative accident rate

Similarly as seen in Fig. 7, the relative
accident rate has risen for license-revokeddrivers ( ) with age. The appropriate
explanation for this result would be that thedriving frequency of such drivers was low
from the start, the so-called low-mileage bias
(drivers with less driving experience havehigher accident rate with respect to driving
frequency). Although the data for voluntary
surrenderers being too little is not shown in
the graph, it is higher as compared to thosedrivers whose licenses were revoked.

16

0.4

0.2

0.0

66

69

72

75

78

81

84

Age (years)
Fig. 9 Ratio of voluntary surrenderof license within 2 years of its renewal(male drivers who renewed licenses in 2010)

8
6
4

70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85

14

Male
averagefor all
ages
2.17%

Male
averagefor all
ages
12.6%

12
10
8

4

63

Revoked2

Violation driver rate (%)

0.6

10

6

×100

0.8

12

RenewedVoluntarily surrendered
RevokedAs seen in Fig. 10, although little, rate of older drivers who surrendered their driver’s license within
1 year of its renewal (D: 20) among those who surrendered their driver’s license within 2 years of
its renewal (B: 371) is 5.4%, which is higher than the rate of drivers with accident experience in the
total number of license-renewing cases (C/A:0.9%). Providing ample data on accident risks to older
drivers at the time of license renewal may be one way of providing them with an option of not
renewing their licenses, thereby possibly preventing the increase in the number of drivers who may
encounter tragic accidents after renewal.

A: License-renewing drivers 236,827
B: Voluntary surrenderers
within 2 years of renewal 371

D: 20
C: Drivers experiencing accidents
within 1 year of license renewal 2,106
Rate of drivers experiencing accidents in the total number of license-renewing drivers (C/A): 0.9%
Rate of drivers experiencing accidents in the total number of voluntary surrenderers (D/B): 5.4%

20

70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85

Age (years)
Fig. 8 Violation driver rate of license-renewing
drivers etc. by age (male; registered in the end of 2012)
ITARDA INFORMATION no.109

License-renewing drivers

140Voluntary surrenderers
within 2 yrs of renewal

1.0

RenewedAge (years)
Fig. 7 Relative accident rateof license-renewing drivers etc. by age(male; registered in the end of 2012)
Further, the violation driver rate of licenserenewing drivers ( ) has decreased with age
for drivers upto 81 years (Fig. 8). This is
attributable to the fact that in proportion to thedecrease in the accident frequency (QuasiInduced Exposure) as was seen in the caseof Fig.5, the possibility of drivers getting
penalized also decreased. Although lower
than the Violation driver rate of licenserenewing drivers, the rate has increased forvoluntary surrenderers ( ) with age.

1.2

Ratio of voluntary surrenderers (%)

Accident driver rate (%)

2.5* D represents the voluntary surrenderers within 2 years of license renewal who had experienced accidents
within 1 year of license renewal. The 20 drivers in D are included in both B and C population.

Fig.10 Ratio of drivers with accident experience within 1 year of license renewal(male drivers who renewed licenses at 75 yrs in 2010)(Note: Renewal period is calculated on monthly basis by taking aggregate of one year after renewal)

ITARDA INFORMATION no.109

lSpeciafeatureContemplating the possession of driver’s license by older male drivers

ITARDA INFORMATION no.109

Accident driver rate of drivers over 75 years
7 who voluntarily surrender their licenses, is highWith age, the ratio of voluntary surrender
8 of license after its renewal increases

Fig. 6 shows the accident driver rate of older
male drivers who renewed their licenses andotherwise (license revoked and voluntarily
surrendered) during the one-year period of
2011, by age. The rate has not increased withage for license- renewing drivers ( ) until theage of 81 years. However, the rate has
increased for voluntary surrenderers ( ) after
75 years as compared to the license-renewing
drivers, indicating that experiencing an
accident may have influenced some drivers tocontemplate their possession of drivers’
licenses.

Physical abilities, driving frequency and thelike may be thought as the factors consideredby older drivers at the time of license renewal.
Nevertheless, many older drivers may be in
two minds whether they should renew theirlicenses or decide otherwise. There are
drivers who within two years of renewing
decide to voluntarily surrender their licenses,
without waiting for the next due date ofrenewal. Fig.9 shows that this ratio has
increased with age.

2.0
1.5

RenewedVoluntarily surrendered
RevokedMale
averagefor all
ages
0.98%

1.0
0.5
0.0

70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85

Age (years)
Fig. 6 Accident driver rateof license-renewing drivers etc. by age(male; registered in the end of 2012)20
18

Relative accident rate

Similarly as seen in Fig. 7, the relative
accident rate has risen for license-revokeddrivers ( ) with age. The appropriate
explanation for this result would be that thedriving frequency of such drivers was low
from the start, the so-called low-mileage bias
(drivers with less driving experience havehigher accident rate with respect to driving
frequency). Although the data for voluntary
surrenderers being too little is not shown in
the graph, it is higher as compared to thosedrivers whose licenses were revoked.

16

0.4

0.2

0.0

66

69

72

75

78

81

84

Age (years)
Fig. 9 Ratio of voluntary surrenderof license within 2 years of its renewal(male drivers who renewed licenses in 2010)

8
6
4

70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85

14

Male
averagefor all
ages
2.17%

Male
averagefor all
ages
12.6%

12
10
8

4

63

Revoked2

Violation driver rate (%)

0.6

10

6

×100

0.8

12

RenewedVoluntarily surrendered
RevokedAs seen in Fig. 10, although little, rate of older drivers who surrendered their driver’s license within
1 year of its renewal (D: 20) among those who surrendered their driver’s license within 2 years of
its renewal (B: 371) is 5.4%, which is higher than the rate of drivers with accident experience in the
total number of license-renewing cases (C/A:0.9%). Providing ample data on accident risks to older
drivers at the time of license renewal may be one way of providing them with an option of not
renewing their licenses, thereby possibly preventing the increase in the number of drivers who may
encounter tragic accidents after renewal.

A: License-renewing drivers 236,827
B: Voluntary surrenderers
within 2 years of renewal 371

D: 20
C: Drivers experiencing accidents
within 1 year of license renewal 2,106
Rate of drivers experiencing accidents in the total number of license-renewing drivers (C/A): 0.9%
Rate of drivers experiencing accidents in the total number of voluntary surrenderers (D/B): 5.4%

20

70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85

Age (years)
Fig. 8 Violation driver rate of license-renewing
drivers etc. by age (male; registered in the end of 2012)
ITARDA INFORMATION no.109

License-renewing drivers

140Voluntary surrenderers
within 2 yrs of renewal

1.0

RenewedAge (years)
Fig. 7 Relative accident rateof license-renewing drivers etc. by age(male; registered in the end of 2012)
Further, the violation driver rate of licenserenewing drivers ( ) has decreased with age
for drivers upto 81 years (Fig. 8). This is
attributable to the fact that in proportion to thedecrease in the accident frequency (QuasiInduced Exposure) as was seen in the caseof Fig.5, the possibility of drivers getting
penalized also decreased. Although lower
than the Violation driver rate of licenserenewing drivers, the rate has increased forvoluntary surrenderers ( ) with age.

1.2

Ratio of voluntary surrenderers (%)

Accident driver rate (%)

2.5* D represents the voluntary surrenderers within 2 years of license renewal who had experienced accidents
within 1 year of license renewal. The 20 drivers in D are included in both B and C population.

Fig.10 Ratio of drivers with accident experience within 1 year of license renewal(male drivers who renewed licenses at 75 yrs in 2010)(Note: Renewal period is calculated on monthly basis by taking aggregate of one year after renewal)

ITARDA INFORMATION no.109

Going forward, it is also important to perform analysis on regional trends such as in urban
and rural areas as well as on older female drivers and engage in widespread disseminationof useful information on the risks associated with older drivers so that they can contemplate
the possession of their drivers’ licenses.
(Yasushi Nishida, Masahide Honda)〒101-0064 東京都千代田区猿楽町2-7-8 住友水道橋ビル8階
TEL 03-5577-3977(代表) FAX 03-5577-3980

ITARDA INFORMATION no.109●E メール koho@itarda.or.jp

つくば 交通事故調査事務所

Trend in no. of voluntary surrender of driver’s license by age(Nationwide total of men and women;
Source: Driver license Statistics, National Police Agency, Japan)

1 Introduction・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・P2
2

75 years, 78 years and 81 years: Junctures
to contemplate the possession of driver s license・
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3 Indicators to express accident and violation characteristics・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・P3
Drivers with high rate of license renewal are

4 those without accident records but with violation records・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・P4
Voluntary surrender of license on upsurge since 2012;

5 The ratio of voluntary surrender of drivers over 75 years

with accident records increases remarkably・
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Driving frequency of license-renewing drivers is high,6
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Accident driver rate of drivers over 75 years who voluntarily
7
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8 With age, the ratio of voluntary surrender of license after its renewal increases・・・・P7

9 Conclusion・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・P8

2013●ウェブサイト http://www.itarda.or.jp/

2012

公益財団法人 交通事故総合分析センター

0

2011

FAX 03-5577-3980

20,000
2010

TEL 03-5577-3973

40,000

2009

渉外事業課

60,0002008

イタルダインフォメーションに関するお問い合せ先Under 65 yrs

2007*The downloadable PDF file posted on our webpage has already been corrected.

65-69 yrs

80,000

2006

0.59
0.47
0.45
0.00
0.63
0.00

70-74 yrs

2005

5.1
2.1
2.2
0.7
1.6
1.5

75-79 yrs (75 yrs or older up to year 2004)
100,000

2004

Oamishirasato city
Shisui town
Sakae town
Kozaki town
Tako town
Tohnosho town

80-84 yrs

120,000

2003

1.98
0.20
0.47
0.00
1.53
0.00

Fatalities
per 0.1 million
population

1

85 yrs or older

2002

1.5
5.1
2.1
2.2
0.7
1.6

Name of village/ Population(0.1 million)
town/city

27

住 友 水 道 橋 ビル８ 階

Oamishirasato city
Shisui town
Sakae town
Kozaki town
Tako town
Tohnosho town

Fatalities
per 0.1 million
population?

About 0.14 Mn drivers
surrendered theirlicenses in 2013!

Total (up to year 2001)

140,000

2001

Name of village/ Population(0.1 million)
town/city

We apologize for the error in ITARDA Information No. 108
and would like to correct the same as given on the right.

(Correct) Chiba prefecture

160,000

2000<Our apology and correction>(Incorrect) Chiba prefecture

Renewal characteristics ofelderly male driverʼs license holders

1999<Reference materials>
1) Japan Safe Driving Center: “Investigative research on skills etc. required for safe driving, vol I-IV; Investigative research
report from FY 2006-2009.”
2) Japan Safe Driving Center: “Investigative research on accident and violation characteristics, their correlation with accident
rates thereafter and their utilization plan, vol I & II; Investigative research report for FY 2010 and 2011.”lSpeciafeature1998<Supplementary notes>
This issue of ITARDA Information is a partial compilation of the ongoing “Research on the Evaluation Method of Traffic Safety
Policies” jointly carried out by the Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis (ITARDA) and the public interest
incorporated foundation International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences (IATSS), that started in 2014.

交通事故分析レポート No.109

No.109

公益財団法人 交通事故総合分析センター〒101 0064 東 京 都 千 代 田 区 猿 楽 町 ２ ７ ８■Provide information to license-renewing drivers
Some older male drivers do not wait till the next renewal date and voluntarily surrender theirlicenses after they have renewed their licenses. Although such rate is low, it increases withage (See Fig.9). It is therefore important to provide them with objective information about
accident and violation records and their correlation with accident characteristics thereafter.
This could be an effective way of aiding them to decide on their own whether or not theyshould renew their licenses, based on such objective information.

ITARDA INFORMATION

No. of voluntary surrenderers■Characteristics of license-renewing or voluntary surrendering of driver's license○ The driving frequency of license-renewing drivers is high (See Fig.5).
○ After 75 years, the accident driver rate increases in the year previous to surrender oflicense for voluntary surrenderers (See Fig. 6).
Focusing on these two trends may enable us to discuss the cut-off period, conditions etc.
of voluntary surrender as well as the possession of driver’s license by older drivers.
○ In the case of drivers who have committed violations, correlation with voluntary surrenderof driver’s license is not seen (See Fig.8) as opposed to drivers with accident records.
However, there is data (“reference materials” given below) available indicating that therate of violators getting involved in accidents is high, which makes it important to haveolder violators consider voluntary surrender of their licenses.

ITARDA INFORMATION■Renewing driver’s license
The trend of license-holders by age indicates that the rate of older drivers of 75 yrs, 78 yrs,
81 yrs and 84 yrs in the age gap of 3 years not renewing their driver’s licenses is high.
Targeting the education of older drivers in this renewal period is expected to yield better
results.

交通事故分析レポート

9 Conclusion

イタルダ インフォメーション