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TagsBY REBECCA SHEEHAN
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
In the Garden State, residents 60 years and older makes up 18.5 percent of the state’s population, and with that being said, the risk of them being killed in the streets as pedestrians by cars tallies a total of 25.7 percent .
Pedestrians walking along our streets, in a perfect world, should be completely protected and not have to worry about whether they are going to get struck by a moving vehicle. Between the years of 2009-2011 the Garden State saw 440 total pedestrian fatalities, and of that 440, 137 were 65 years and older.
Now, you might be asking yourself: Why are older pedestrians being killed on our streets? Here are
three reasons why, according to Tri-State Transportation Campaign (TSTC), which is a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing car dependency in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut (Tri-State area).
1. Older adults are choosing to give up their car keys and relying on walking or public transit. AARP Public Policy Institute found that “Transit use by people age 65 years and older, as a share of all trips they take, increased by a remarkable 40 percent between 2001 and 2009.”
2. The lack of pedestrian amenities along our region’s roads puts all pedestrians at risk, but puts older pedestrians disproportionately so.
3. Older pedestrians may face a greater risk of being in a fatal collision with a vehicle because they may be less able to react quickly to an on-coming vehicle and once struck, may be less likely to recover than those younger than them.
But since the TSTC came out with their first examination on the subject ‑ Older Pedestrians at Risk report in 2010,(which examined pedestrian fatality data from 2006 through 2008), older pedestrian fatalities surprisingly decreased. Although the decrease is encouraging news more can always be done to keep these numbers down.
Such as in New Jersey:
• New Jersey and the State’s metropolitan planning organizations should allocate funding to regional trails such as The Circuit in Southern New Jersey so that these trails can serve as key transportation corridors. Prioritize pedestrian and bicycle improvements on roads that provide access to these trails to create safe connectivity to the trails and
surrounding roads.
passed Complete Streets policies should create implementation plans and receive funding priority from NJDOT.
• The State Legislature should pass a Vulnerable Users bill that would stiffen penalties for drivers who kill or injure pedestrians, bicyclists, highway workers, or other non-motorists using the roadway and pass a Safe Passing bill that clearly indicates how motorists should act when passing a vulnerable user on the roadway.
