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(HealthDayNews) -- As drivers get older, their reflexes slow and their vision may blur.

But, the General Motors Research and Development Center in Warren, Mich., says, that doesn't mean they're a danger on the road.

As reported in the International Journal of Epidemiology, a 70-year-old male driver is actually less of a threat to other drivers than a 40-year-old male -- by 40 percent. On the other hand, that 40-year-old man represents almost the same risk as a 70-year-old woman.

At greatest risk for a major accident are drivers in their late teens and early 20s. If they have an accident, there's a 20 percent chance that it will be a serious one. By the time a driver is 65, the risk of a major accident drops to less than 1 percent.

And by age 80, the likelihood of a serious accident is only one-half of 1 percent.

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