Walking is the best way for older adults to get around, especially for some who can no longer drive. Walking can also be a form of exercise for seniors to improve their overall health and well-being. However, it’s not exactly the safest option for older people as healthy and practical as this seems to be. Older adults are the most vulnerable type of pedestrians, and are more prone to accidents. Here are the common reasons ageing pedestrians get involved in an accident:
1. Distracted Drivers
There are many reasons for drivers to be distracted while on the road. They can become a nuisance and can be dangerous to pedestrians, especially older adults. Here are common examples of things that can distract a driver:
- Using The Phone While Driving
There’s a law that prohibits a person from holding or using phones or any electronic gadget while driving. However, other distractions usually happen inside a car while driving, and this includes listening to music that’s too loud, arguing with passengers in the car, and eating. Accidents due to distracted drivers can generally lead to a personal injury lawsuit from the affected pedestrians.
- Multi-Tasking
It’s important to note that drivers aren’t supposed to multi-task while driving. If they do, they will usually shift their eyes from the road. Cognitive distraction usually occurs when the driver is too preoccupied with things that take their attention away from the road. Multi-tasking is one example, as the driver would tend to focus more on consuming their beverage or eating their food instead of focusing on driving properly.
- Driving While Intoxicated
Another potential cause of accidents is driving while intoxicated (DWI). Every state has its respective laws and penalties for DWI. Unfortunately, despite the presence of these laws, there are still many drivers that seem to disregard it. The amount of alcohol in your bloodstream will impact how you will be able to drive.
Driving safely requires the ability to make good judgements, and to concentrate well to be able to react with situations quickly. Being intoxicated significantly affects this and can distract drivers from looking out for pedestrians they may hit on the road. Drunk drivers can have a difficult time seeing pedestrians, especially older people who are frail and walk relatively slow.
- Over Speeding
There are also other drivers who tend to overspeed. This is likely to happen at night, when drivers become too relaxed and there are little to no cars on the road. Unfortunately, over speeding can result in serious injuries and even death when there are older pedestrians involved in an accident. Compared to younger adults, older pedestrians can’t quickly move aside when they see a speeding vehicle since most of them have slower reflexes and reaction times.
2. High-Tech Cars
Cars these days are equipped with the latest innovations in technology, which make them a lot different from older vehicle models. Most cars are now quiet due to the noise-cancelling technology that engineers install. This is often the case for vehicles that are battery-operated, which are also known as hybrid cars.
We are used to hearing the engines of a car when it’s coming in our direction. Therefore, this can be a problem with ageing pedestrians, as some have issues with hearing. This can be an even bigger problem when a car gets out of control, and the driver isn’t able to honk the horn for pedestrians to get out of the way.
3. Age-Related Health Issues
Being old and frail exposes older adults to the risk of acquiring serious injuries if they don’t move and travel with care. Compared to younger people, they have a higher chance of being injured due to accidents. Older pedestrians are usually involved in car crashes because of their limited functional abilities, problems with their ability to interpret a situation, and issues with their overall physical abilities. When a person ages, the body, as well as its cognition, also starts to deteriorate and this makes older adults more susceptible to accidents.
Conclusion
Walking is good for one’s health, especially for older adults. However, they’re naturally vulnerable to accidents due to their limited functional abilities. There are a lot of other reasons why older pedestrians get involved in vehicular accidents, and some of these are due to the recklessness of drivers, while others can be caused by how cars are made these days. Thankfully, if any of these accidents happen to an ageing pedestrian, they can contact personal injury lawyers to help them with their case.
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