A study to investigate the walking speed of elderly adults with relation to pedestrian crossings

Elderly pedestrians are particularly at risk on the roads. The objective of this study was to investigate the walking speed of elderly adults and determine if it allows the safe clearance of pedestrian crossings. The increasing elderly population and high fatality rates of this age group on Irish roads necessitate this investigation. Fifty-two community-dwelling adults over the age of 65 years completed a 10-meter walk test. Acceleration and steady-state walking speed were accounted for. Twenty traffic-light-controlled pedestrian crossings were analyzed within a 1 kilometer radius of 4 day care centers in Kilkenny, Ireland. Values were recorded for the distance of the crossings and time of the light signals. The mean acceleration of the 52 participants was 0.20 ± 0.15 ms(-2) (mean ± SD) and the mean steady-state walking speed was 0.82 ± 0.27 ms(-1). In total, 30% of the pedestrian crossings investigated would not have permitted this sample of participants enough time to safely cross the road given the time of the green and amber light signals. Over 96% of participants would have been unable to cross a road of average distance on the amber signal alone. A substantial number of elderly adults walked slower than the speed required to safely cross the road.