Move Grandma across the street!

Elderly pedestrians do not have enough time to cross the road

ABC MagazineThe results of an interesting study (Most older pedestrians are unable to cross the road in time: a cross-sectional study) conducted by scientists from the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at UCL from University College London were published in the journal Age and Aging.

Dr. Laura Asher together with my colleagues, I decided to find out if elderly people have enough time to cross the road at a green traffic light, and I got alarming results.

Using the materials of the Health Survey for England in 2005, scientists found that the average speed of movement for the elderly is 0.9 meters per second for men and 0.8 meters per second for women. At the same time, to switch the street to a green light, it is necessary to move at a speed above 1.2 meters per second. The data obtained by Dr. Escher and her colleagues showed that 76 percent of older men and 85 percent of older women are not able to cross the road in time. Moreover, 84 percent of men and 93 percent of women over the age of 65 have some kind of walking problems.

According to the authors of the study, such results are a cause for concern. After all, the inability of elderly people to cross the road at the right time not only puts them at great risk of getting into traffic accidents, but also makes it difficult to perform functions such as socialization and the ability to receive medical care, which significantly limits the autonomy of people over 65 years old.

These data look especially depressing in the light of the London Mayor's Office's program to facilitate traffic in the city, during which the time for crossing the road at regulated pedestrian crossings will be reduced. Scientists hope that their findings will make officials think about this problem from the point of view of the health status of elderly Londoners.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru18.06.2012