Study shows age of drivers increasing

In 2013, nearly half of the drivers on U.S. roads consisted of people over the age of 50, said the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration.

The administration released the data on Monday, and U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx added projections show a 77 percent increase in drivers over 65 years old by 2045.

"Knowing that older drivers are one of our fastest-growing populations helps us realize the importance of transportation investment – especially for research," Foxx said. "In the decades ahead, our roads will serve even more older drivers – making it critical that we invest in our nation's infrastructure and use state-of-the-art research to ensure the road system is ready to meet their needs."

The data showed about 212.2 million people were licensed drivers in 2013 in all 50 states and in Washington, D.C. About 93.5 million of those drivers were over 50 years old, which is a 22 percent increase from 2003. The fastest growing demographic was the 85 years and older age group, a number that nearly doubled from 1.76 million in 1998 to 3.48 million in 2013.

"From brighter, more visible highway signs and lane markings to pedestrian countdown signals, our research has done much to keep America's aging population safe," Deputy Federal Highway Administrator Gregory Nadeau said. "We are far from done. Because safety is our top priority, we hope to increase transportation investments to build on the gains we've already made."