Every year, more than 4,000 pedestrians suffer fatal injuries in accidents across the country. Those numbers have stayed more or less consistent, even though the number of people being killed in traffic accidents across the country has been dropping over the past couple of years. A new study finds that older pedestrians involved in accidents are at a much high risk of being killed.
The study was based on an analysis of accident data between 2001 and 2010, and found that senior citizens above the age of 75 had an accident fatality risk that was more than double the fatality rate for pedestrians who were below 34 years of age.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which conducted the analysis, believes that the number of senior pedestrians killed in accidents could actually increase over the next few years, as the number of older pedestrians on our streets increases. That is likely to happen with an explosion in the population of seniors in the country. It is estimated that the senior population in the country will increase dramatically over the next couple of decades, leading not just to an increase in the number of seniors at the wheel, but also on the road.
But while Los Angeles pedestrian accident lawyers have found a lot of focus on reducing the number of accidents involving senior drivers, and introducing interventions to help reduce the accident risk of senior motorists, there does not seem to be that much focus on reducing the risk to senior pedestrians.
This is even though senior citizens have been confirmed to be at a much higher risk of senior injuries because of their physical state. Seniors who are injured, may take a much longer time to recover from their injuries, or may never completely recover at all. Severe injuries are also much more likely to leave seniors physically disabled.
