Research has shown that – especially in urban areas – it is now a daily occurrence to "witness" road accidents in which a pedestrian is "carried away" by a car or a two-wheeler.
In fact, the European Commission (https://ec.europa.eu/transport/road_safety) recognizing the problem makes special reference to road accidents involving pedestrians and proposes ways to reduce them in every European country.
Unfortunately, pedestrians are the "easy victims" on the roadway, especially the elderly, as it has been proven that the largest percentage of pedestrians, who fall victim to road accidents, belongs to the elderly, which is constantly increasing demographically in recent years in our country.
It is important, therefore, to know the causes of road accidents involving pedestrians.
The main causes for "pedestrian drifts", especially of the elderly
As we all know, the streets are daily full of pedestrians, especially the elderly, who attempt to cross the roadway. A simple daily traffic, however, can be fatal due to the morphology of the Greek roads and the lack of driving education in Greece, which automatically increase the chances of a road accident.
Indicatively, the main causes that turn pedestrians into "negative protagonists" are:
* Decreased sensations and reflexes of elderly pedestrians *
Vision, hearing and reflexes are the parameters that significantly affect the making of critical decisions in traffic issues.
After the age of 60, the senses and reflexes gradually decrease, making it more and more difficult for a pedestrian of this age to see, hear and perceive in time something that suddenly happens on the roadway.
The fact that he slowly perceives a lot of data noticeably increases his reaction time.
It is noteworthy that the person himself, i.e. the over-60-year-old pedestrian, usually considers that none of the above parameters (see vision, hearing, reflexes) has changed and that any change is due to others and not to himself.
* Miscalculation of distances from pedestrians, especially the elderly *
Research by special institutes has shown that the estimation of distances from pedestrians aged 60 to 70 years (or an average of 65 years) is often incorrect in contrast to pedestrians of younger age (e.g. 25 years old).
For example, an elderly pedestrian, who is waiting to cross the road, estimates that he has time to pass across when a car is 30 meters away from it. This is not the case, however, because research has shown that a 25-year-old pedestrian crosses the roadway safely when the vehicle is more than 50 metres away.
* Reduced speed of movement of elderly pedestrians *
A very important problem is the necessary time that pedestrians need to cross vertically the roadway with "Gregory" at the traffic light lit.
Elderly people, even when they do not have a condition that makes it difficult for them to move, are definitely slower. For example, a pedestrian aged 25 years passes the walkway (always understood with Gregory lit) at a speed of about 6.23 km / h (or 1.73 meters / second) at a speed of about 6.23 meters / h . In contrast, the speed of movement of pedestrians over 65 years of age is limited to 3.6 km / h (or 1.00 meters / second) approximately, i.e . it is almost halved.
At the same time, elderly people usually have a disorder in their balance problem which starts from the labyrinth of the ear.
For this reason, young people usually cross the road completely vertically, while the elderly often follow an oblique course, thus staying exposed to the roadway for longer and thus increasing the likelihood of being swept away by a passing vehicle (see car or two-wheeler) and falling victim to a serious road accident (Learn how to watch out for motorbikes on Greek roads).
The biggest enemy in analyzing the conditions of a car accident is time.
Make it your ally!
* Colors and reflective safety vest save lives... *
The issue of dressing and especially the color of clothes, although it is very important, is often overlooked especially in our country. The majority of older pedestrians wear dark-colored clothes, so they are not easily visible to drivers at night (Find out why night driving is considered the 51st shade of gray).
This is why it is necessary for pedestrians to choose light-colored clothing when it comes to walking on the road and especially during the night hours.
We should all try to teach older people not to hesitate to wear bright colors when it comes to going out on the street especially after sunset.
Moreover, it is equally important in the jackets and clothes of all of us to have reflective strips, so that all of us as pedestrians can be easily visible at night by the drivers of vehicles (Find out why in Finland they choose their clothes to shine at night as well)."
* The important role of the pedestrian traffic past *
The traffic past of elderly pedestrians plays a very important role in decision-making.
We must bear in mind that, when a 65-year-old pedestrian was young, he was on roads without a lot of cars, so he was moving around more comfortably. At the same time, as a driver he did not face major traffic problems.
Moreover, we must not forget that a sufficient number of elderly people arrived in the big cities from the province, without being familiar with the traffic "chaos" of the city and without being aware of the dangers that are on guard.
The lack of experience in intense traffic conditions therefore makes older pedestrians more vulnerable.
* Some became "students - guides" in their 40s *
Studies have shown that some drivers in our country learned to drive at the age of 45 or 55.
Some of them may have had to start driving in order to carry out some family responsibilities, such as guarding or moving grandchildren.
So it is quite normal for people in this category to feel a certain uncertainty and insecurity while driving, and that is why we should learn to be more tolerant of them.
* Awareness of the problem and prevention measures to be taken by pedestrians and elderly drivers *
The main burden of perceiving and realizing the problem lies with pedestrians and senior citizens themselves, but also with their families.
The first stage is to understand that, as annoying as it may sound, their physical condition, their mental strengths and their reflexes have already begun to fall. This is also the natural evolution of things.
For this reason, they should do regular checks on their eyes and glasses (they should always wear the right glasses) and regularly check their hearing.
Safety on the roads is a matter and a responsibility of all of us whether we are pedestrians or drivers. Therefore, apart from the juxtaposition of the issues dealt with in this article, respect and tolerance towards others remains the key.
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Pay attention and priority to pedestrians...
Protect life in every way!