Ethnic Differences

People of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity may be regarded as African American or Caucasian, and are therefore considered separately from the discussion of racial groups.

Hispanics/Latinos

• Older Hispanic men may be more likely to die in a crash than non-Hispanic men. Older Hispanic men had consistently higher rates than non-Hispanic men. However, in recent years, older Hispanic men have experienced a decrease in death rates and are now comparable to non-Hispanic men (approximately 30 deaths per 100,000 men per year)⁹³
   
• Hispanic men have nearly three times the death rate of Hispanic women⁹⁴
   
• Older Hispanic women have lower motor-vehicle-related death rates than older women who are non-Hispanic. Hispanic women have consistently lower death rates than non-Hispanic women⁹⁵
   
• Hispanics drive the least of any racial and ethnic group
   
• However, from 1983 to 1990, older Hispanic women more than doubled the average number of miles they drove annually. Older Hispanic men also raised dramatically (by 74 percent) the average number of miles driven⁹⁶
   
• Older Hispanics are much less likely than non-Hispanics to use public transit⁹⁷
   
• Latino elders may be more at risk for vision impairment. Individuals from certain ethnic backgrounds may be more likely to develop conditions that interfere with driving. For example, according to a recent study of Los Angeles-area residents, visual impairment afflicts Latino elders more than those from other ethnic or racial groups⁹⁸

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2002) Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS™) [Online]. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (producer). Retrieved Apr. 25, 2003, from the World Wide Web: www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars/default.htm.

⁹³ Ibid.

⁹⁴ Ibid.

⁹⁵ Ibid.

⁹⁶ Rosenbloom, p. 32.

⁹⁷ Rosenbloom & Waldorf, p. 113.

⁹⁸ Weiner, J. (May 2003) "Older latinos grappling with high rates of vision loss." Press Release. Retrieved from EurekaAlert! on the World Wide Web: www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-05/uosc-olg050203.php..