Older pedestrians are far more likely to be killed while walking than their younger neighbors, according to a study released today by Tri-State Transportation Campaign. “Older Pedestrians at Risk” also found that older pedestrians in the tri-state area suffer higher average fatality rates than older pedestrians nationally.

Between 2008 and 2010, 435 pedestrians aged 60 years and older were killed on the tri-state region’s roads. Though comprising only 18.4 percent of the region’s population, people aged 60 and older accounted for more than 34 percent of the total pedestrian fatalities during the three-year period. Those aged 75 years and older represent just 6.4 percent of the region’s population, but make up more than 15 percent of pedestrian deaths.

The nationwide pedestrian fatality rate for older Americans is more than 1.5 times higher than for those under 60 years old, but the disparities in the tri-state region are even greater, with the average pedestrian fatality rate for people 60 years and older almost 2.4 times the rate for those younger than 60. Tri-State pedestrians 75 years and older suffer a fatality rate that is more than 3 times that of their younger neighbors.

The number of senior pedestrian fatalities has remained almost unchanged since Tri-State Transportation Campaign’s previous analysis, which looked at pedestrian fatalities between 2007 and 2009. Fatality rates for those aged 60 and older have decreased slightly from last year’s report, though fatality rates for those aged 75 and older have increased. Both last year’s report and this year’s highlight that the region’s older pedestrians suffer disproportionately compared to their younger counterparts.

To reduce older pedestrian fatalities and to make the streets safer for all users, the report urged governments across the region to:

• Make pedestrian safety a policy and investment priority;
• Protect the most vulnerable pedestrians through increased spending on programs like Safe Routes for Seniors, Safe Routes to School, and Safe Routes to Transit, which can all make roads less dangerous through targeted safety improvements; and
• Enact meaningful complete streets laws in counties and municipalities so that new and existing roads are built or retrofitted to safely accommodate cars along with bicyclists, pedestrians, and transit riders of all ages and abilities. Updating streets to accommodate older pedestrians will allow seniors to age in place and provide greater transportation choice as they leave their cars at home.

Tri-State also offered specific recommendations for downstate New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.