Analysis of the elderly pedestrian traffic accidents in urban scenarios: the case of the Spanish municipalities

In this study, the focus was on analysing the occurrence of elderly pedestrian-vehicle collisions in Spanish municipalities and how it is related to the built environment. The study used the hurdle negative binomial model to analyse the number of elderly and non-elderly pedestrian accidents per municipality in 2016-2019. The exploratory analysis showed that cities above 50,000 inhabitants were safer for the elderly, and larger provincial capitals had lower elderly pedestrian traffic accident rates. The occurrence of all pedestrian traffic accidents was linked to the socio-demographic features. For elderly pedestrians, land use was found to be influential, with a lower proportion of land covered by manufacturing and service activities linked to a smaller number of accidents. Results showed that improving road safety for older pedestrians may not necessarily compromise the situation for the rest of population. Hence, policymakers should focus on infrastructure improvements adapted to the needs of elderly pedestrians.PMID:38647115 | DOI:10.1080/17457300.2024.2335482
Source: International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion - Category: Accident Prevention Authors: Source Type: research