The likelihood of dying fixjm a fall is markedly
different for men than for women. While more
older women die, the overall fatality rate for
men is almost 60 percent higher than for
women, when differences in age distributions
are taken into account The underiying causes fbr
this difference are unclear. Men may sustain
more severe injuries than women because men
are more likely to fall from greater heights, such
as fk)m ladders. Or, men may have more underlying
dironic conditions than women of comparable
age or may be in poorer health.
Motor vehicle crashes result in deaths to drivers,
passengers, pedestrians, and bicyclists.
There were 7,544 crash deaths among older
adults in 2001; the largest proportion of these
deaths occurred among vehicle occupants. When