Age at which Americans Will Stop Driving

Most automobile owners in the United States do not plan on giving up driving—ever. Sixty-two percent of the nation's drivers say they will continue to drive for the rest of their life, according to an AARP survey...

"At what age do you think you will stop driving?"
Age 60 to 75: 12%
Aged 76-plus: 24%
Never stop driving: 62%
Refused to answer: 2%

Among drivers who say they will stop driving, the average age at which they will turn in their keys is 78 for both Millennials and Gen Xers. Boomers say they will stop driving at an average age of 82.

Source: AARP, Boomers Going the Distance: 2018 Consumer Insights on the Driving Experience

Americans Drive 51 Minutes a Day

Eighty-eight percent of Americans aged 16 or older drive at least occasionally, according to the AAA Foundation's third annual American Driving Survey. Those who drive spend an average of 51 minutes a day behind the wheel on their 2.24 road trips. People aged 25 to 49 do the most driving and log the greatest number of daily trips...

Average number of minutes per day spent driving, 2016 (and number of trips)
Aged 16 to 19: 37.5 (1.96)
Aged 20 to 24: 50.2 (1.89)
Aged 25 to 34: 57.5 (2.45)
Aged 35 to 49: 59.1 (2.41)
Aged 50 to 64: 46.8 (2.35)
Aged 65 to 74: 51.0 (2.10)
Aged 75-plus: 33.9 (1.84)

Source: AAA Foundation, 2016 American Driving Survey 

Driving Troubles of Older Americans

Getting from here to there is a growing problem for many as they age. Ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft may solve this problem in the future. The potential market is huge. One in four Americans aged 65 or older reports having trouble getting places, according to the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey. One in five has given up driving altogether, and one in three drives only in the daytime. Here are the percentages by age...

Has trouble getting places
65 to 74: 18.5%
75 to 84: 26.5%
85-plus: 44.6%

Limits driving to daytime
65 to 74: 24.8%
75 to 84: 39.2%
85-plus: 55.3%

Has given up driving altogether
65 to 74: 11.3%
75 to 84: 21.2%
85-plus: 46.5%

Source: Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics, Older Americans 2016: Key Indicators of Well-Being

American Driving Survey

American drivers add 29.2 miles a day to their odometer—an average of 10,658 miles a year. They make two trips a day, on average, and spend 46 minutes behind the wheel. These numbers vary by demographic characteristic, according to the American Driving Survey. Sponsored by AAA and developed in partnership with the Urban Institute, the survey examines the demographics of driving.

• Women make more daily trips than men (2.2 versus 1.9), but men spend more time behind the wheel (51 minutes for men versus 41 minutes for women) and travel greater distances (34 versus 25 miles).
• Those who spend the most time driving are 30-to-49-year-olds. This age group makes 2.3 trips a day, drives 36 miles, and spends 54 minutes on the road.
• Americans who live in cities or medium-sized towns average 2.0 trips per day, not much different than the 2.1 trips per day for those who live in the countryside or small towns. But rural and small town residents drive longer distances (34 miles per day) than those who live in cities and medium-sized towns (27 miles). Those miles add up over a year, with rural folks putting an average of 12,264 miles on their odometer each year versus 9,709 for their urban counterparts. 
• On an average day, most drivers drive. Only 32 percent of American drivers did not drive on the survey's reporting day. 

The American Driving Survey examines in more detail the driving habits of teenagers aged 16 to 19 and people aged 75 or older. Not surprisingly, the percentage of teens who drive almost every day rises with age, from 25.7 percent among 16-year-olds to 50.5 percent among 19-year-olds. Among people aged 75 or older, 46 percent drive almost every day and 30 percent say they never drive.

Source: The Urban Institute and AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, American Driving Survey: Methodology and Year 1 Results, May 2013-May 2014