How Many Older Drivers Die on UK Roads Each Year? 2025 Data

Quick answer: In 2025, 122 car drivers aged 70 and over were killed on roads in Great Britain, according to the Department for Transport. That was 27% of all car driver deaths, up from 15% in 2004, even though drivers aged 70 and over hold only 14.8% of full driving licences. The rising share is driven mainly by there being far more older drivers on the road than a decade ago.

The headline numbers

The Department for Transport's younger and older car drivers factsheet for 2025 records:

• 122 older car drivers killed in 2025, down 26% from 164 in 1990
• 1,238 older car drivers killed or seriously injured in 2025, up 14% from 1,087 in 2004
• 232 people killed in collisions involving at least one older car driver in 2025
• 14% of all killed-or-seriously-injured casualties in 2025 came from collisions involving an older driver, up from 7% in 2004
• 27% of all car driver fatalities in 2025 were older drivers, up from 15% in 2004

For comparison, 84 younger car drivers aged 17 to 24 were killed in 2025, or 19% of car driver deaths, and 269 people died in collisions involving a younger driver.

More older drivers, larger share of deaths

The biggest change is demographic. DVLA data published through the Department for Transport show that drivers aged 70 and over held 6,341,485 full licences in 2025, or 14.8% of all full licences. In 2012 the share was 10.4%, or 3,902,135 licences. Over the same period the younger share fell, from 7.7% to 6.3%.

That growth explains much of the trend. Between 1990 and 2025, older car driver deaths fell 26%, from 164 to 122. But younger driver deaths fell 81% over the same period, from 448 to 84, and deaths among drivers aged 25 to 69 fell 71%, from 804 to 237. Because deaths among younger and middle-aged drivers fell so much faster, older drivers now make up a larger share of a smaller total.

The killed-or-seriously-injured figures point the same way: between 2004 and 2025 they rose 14% among older car drivers, from 1,087 to 1,238, while falling 64% among younger car drivers and 45% among drivers aged 25 to 69. In 2025, 14% of killed-or-seriously-injured casualties came from collisions involving an older driver, double the 7% share of 2004.

Where and when the crashes happen

Using grouped data for 2021 to 2025, the factsheet finds:

• 56% of older-driver killed-or-seriously-injured casualties happened within 3 miles of home, compared with around 40% for drivers of other ages
• Older-driver casualties were concentrated around midday and in the afternoon, while younger-driver casualties peaked at 2am, reaching 38% of killed-or-seriously-injured casualties
• A higher share of older-driver casualties happened at T or staggered junctions than for other drivers
• Single-car collisions made up 21% of older-driver killed-or-seriously-injured casualties, against 36% for younger drivers and 22% for drivers aged 25 to 69

In collisions involving an older driver, more than half of the killed-or-seriously-injured casualties were aged 70 or over themselves.

What police record at the scene

The factsheet also reports the road safety factors assigned by police in fatal or serious collisions in 2024 to 2025. These are the reporting officer's opinion, so they should be read with care. For older car drivers:

• Ineffective observation was assigned to 41.8% of older drivers, against 30.4% of drivers aged 25 to 69 and 31.4% of younger drivers
• Overshot junction or poor turn or manoeuvre was assigned to 22.4%, against 12.9% of drivers aged 25 to 69
• Illness or disability was assigned to 15.6%, against 2.8% of drivers aged 25 to 69, or 5.6 times as often
• Uncorrected or defective eyesight was assigned to 4.6%, against 0.3% of drivers aged 25 to 69, or 15 times as often
• Alcohol was assigned to only 1.2% of older drivers, against 6.0% of drivers aged 25 to 69, and drugs to 0.3%, against 3.7%
• Exceeding the speed limit was assigned to 3.0% of older drivers, against 8.0% of drivers aged 25 to 69

Seatbelts tell a similar story. Between 2021 and 2025, 12% of older-driver fatalities were recorded as not wearing a seatbelt, compared with 29% of younger-driver fatalities. Their risk profile is dominated by observation, turning at junctions, health and eyesight.

Frailty explains more than fault

The Department for Transport notes that younger and older drivers had the highest killed-or-seriously-injured rates per billion miles travelled of all age groups in 2025. But that rate alone does not mean older drivers cause more collisions. Part of the explanation is frailty rather than fault: when an older person is hurt in a crash, the injury is more likely to be serious or fatal.

In practice: regular eyesight checks, extra care at junctions, and the same attention on short, familiar, daytime trips close to home, where most older-driver casualties happen, as on long motorway journeys. Families can help by talking openly about driving, health and safer routes.

For the other end of the age range, see Are Young Drivers More Dangerous on UK Roads?, and for the same question in the United States, see Are Older Drivers More Dangerous?. Local collision counts are on UK road accidents, and all articles are on all articles.

How these numbers were counted

These figures come from the Department for Transport's younger and older car drivers factsheet, 2025, accredited official statistics built on police STATS19 reports. Older drivers are defined as aged 70 and over, younger drivers as aged 17 to 24, and other drivers as aged 25 to 69. The factsheet covers Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), not Northern Ireland. Trend comparisons use grouped data for 2021 to 2025 unless a single year is stated. Serious-injury counts are adjusted for changes in police severity reporting; fatality counts are unadjusted. Licence figures come from DVLA data. Figures can be revised in later releases.