20% jump in number of accidents involving elderly pedestrians
Singaporeans are living longer but there is one segment of their lives that health experts and the authorities want to shorten – their years spent in ill health. TODAY file photo
SINGAPORE — The safety of elderly pedestrians has become a key concern for the authorities, with accident and fatality rates both rising by about 20 per cent last year, annual statistics released by the Traffic Police (TP) yesterday show.
There were 268 accidents involving pedestrians older than 60 last year, up 19.6 per cent from 2015.
The number of deaths on the roads among this group jumped 21.7 per cent to 28.
Sixteen of these deaths resulted from jaywalking, while the rest had other causes, such as motorists failing to keep a proper lookout, said the TP.
“As our society is ageing, TP is very concerned about the number of elderly getting hurt on the road. This year, we will be very aggressive in reaching out to the elderly, educating and reminding them to adopt good road sense and habits,” said TP Commander, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Sam Tee.
Overall, there were more accidents resulting in injuries, but improvements were seen in other areas including fatality rate, drink-driving and speeding.
There were 8,277 accidents resulting in injuries last year, 2.7 per cent more than in 2015, with motorists who failed to keep a proper lookout the chief culprits in these accidents.
This is followed by those who failed to keep proper control of their vehicles, and those who did not give way to traffic.
Accidents due to drivers running red lights fell 30.6 per cent to 118 cases.
There were 140 road fatalities last year, bringing the fatality rate down to 2.51 in 100,000 persons, the lowest since the TP started keeping records in 1981.
The number of drink-driving-related accidents fell by 2.9 per cent to 138, while the number of those arrested for drink-driving also dropped by 7.9 per cent, from 2,303 in 2015 to 2,121 last year.
Elaborating on road safety efforts for the elderly, the TP said it has been working with 111 senior activity centres to raise awareness using a “road master test kit”, which helps the elderly assess their eyesight, hearing, and reaction time.
A total of 1,058 senior citizens have received these test kits, which are available in English and the three vernacular languages, since November last year.
Senior citizens can also redeem them using their concession EZ-link cards at bright yellow dispensers placed at bus stops around Outram, Bishan and Serangoon — neighbourhoods with a high concentration of accidents involving elderly.
The TP has also worked with the Land Transport Authority to put up more road signs for motorists to keep a lookout for the elderly in areas with a higher population of seniors.
New signs have recently been installed at Tiong Bahru Road, for instance.
Other recent efforts by the authorities to enhance senior-friendly road safety features include more Silver Zones with lowered speed limits of 40kmh and two-stage crossings that allow pedestrians to look out for traffic from one direction at a time.
By 2019, there will be 25 such zones, which also include speed humps, centre dividers and specially painted markings to guide the elderly.
The number will double to 50 in 2023.
