Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

From Fri.15.6.12 Melbourne 'Herald Sun'
<http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/elderly-run-risks-crossing-roads
/story-fn7x8me2-1226396036274>

Elderly run risks crossing roads.
Most older people cannot cross the road in time to beat traffic lights.
The elderly struggle to walk fast enough, leaving them at the mercy of
impatient motorists.
Researchers compared the walking speed of people aged over 65 to that
required to use a designated crossing.
They found walkers needed to move at 1.2m a second in order to safely cross
the road in time.
However, the average walking speed of elderly participants in the study was
only about 0.9m a second.
More than 76 per cent of men and 85 per cent of women in the UK study walked
at a speed that was below the 1.2m a second needed to cross safely.
Researcher Dr Laura Asher, of University College London, said older
pedestrians were more likely to be hit by a car than younger people because
of their slower walking speed, slower decision making and perceptual
difficulties.
Monash University Accident Research Centre senior research fellow Dr Bruce
Corben said pedestrians regularly complained they did not have enough time
to cross the road.
"It's quite a concerning issue," he said.