Online CPR Certification Blog

According to the findings of a newly released government report, elderly pedestrians are more likely to die in road accidents compared to young people. This was after analyzing US data on traffic accidents between 2001 and 2010. The team noted that the rates of death for women and men aged 75 years or more doubled that of younger men and women aged below 34 years.

The risk of pedestrians dying in traffic accidents

In overall, of the roughly 34, 000 deaths every year in United States related to traffic, about 4000 of these is made up of pedestrians. This statistics were released by U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Also, with the population in US continuing to increase, it is expected it is likely for this number of elderly pedestrians who die as they walk on America’s toad to increase.

CDC experts noted that compared to younger persons, the older adults take much fewer walks. However, in case they are hit by a motorist, the chances of older pedestrians succumbing to injuries suffered through the accident are quite high. The chances of the elderly being struck by speeding motorists are also high due the increased frailty. Declining in vision and mental health as well as physical disabilities linked to aging also places the elderly pedestrians at an even higher risk of being hit by a car o the road.

Statistics on American traffic related deaths

The number of Americans who died on the road due to traffic pedestrian deaths was at least 47, 000 from 2001 to 2010. Also, the risk of males dying in traffic accident was noted to double that of females. The reason for this was suggested to result from the fact that men usually walk in settings that are more dangerous than females who are not willing to take chances on the road. A significant proportion of these pedestrian deaths are recorded in cities. As such, people in the rural and less populated areas are less likely to encounter a traffic accident unlike those in big cities characterized by heavy traffic and more people on the streets.

The researchers were also keen to look at racial/ ethnic groups and how traffic accidents compared in them. The statistics on this basis revealed that American Alaskan/ Indians Natives had the highest traffic death rates. The lowest traffic death rates were seen to be on the whites. However, CDC didn’t give more information to explain further on this. However, the team was quick to add that it is possible to prevent pedestrian fatalities. They gave some insights on how this could be achieved such as installation of speed bumps at risky road ways and ensuring that laws on distracted driving and speeding are fully enforced. There is also needed to create streets that are designated precisely for walking and other pedestrian safety areas.