By Paula Span, KFF Health News
On an August morning two years ago, Meredith Melville was crossing Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, California, to meet a friend at a cafe. While in the crosswalk, she noticed a car some distance away. Perhaps she misjudged its speed, because she’d walked only partway across the street when the car, a Toyota sedan, came bearing down on her.
“She should have seen me,” Melville said of the driver. “All of a sudden she was there, and I didn’t have any way to get out of her way. I flew I don’t know how many feet.”
Surgeons replaced her right hip and repaired her broken right elbow. After a week’s hospitalization and a month in rehabilitation, Melville, then 73, went home in a wheelchair. She still contends with back and knee pain and hasn’t been able to resume the hiking and backpacking she loved.
Older pedestrians, like Melville, aren’t injured by motor vehicles at a greater rate than younger ones, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. But they’re more likely to die. The death rate for pedestrians over 65 is higher than the average for all ages, and after decades of decline, progress on pedestrian deaths among older adults has stalled for nearly 20 years.
Researchers point to several factors: older adults are walking for exercise more often than a decade ago, the growing popularity of large SUVs and trucks has made vehicles more dangerous to pedestrians, and rising e-bike use has added new hazards. Alcohol also plays an overlooked role — about a third of adult pedestrians killed in nighttime crashes had blood alcohol levels indicating intoxication.
Still, experts say crashes that cause injury and death are largely preventable through safer street design, slower vehicle speeds, and better lighting and crosswalk visibility — measures cities are only beginning to adopt.
This story also ran on The New York Times as part of “The New Old Age,” a partnership between KFF Health News and The New York Times.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Learn more at KFF Health News’ About Us page and KFF’s About Us page.