KOTI - Korea Transport institute

This study is to suggest improvement policies to reduce traffic accidents by surveying and analyzing the induction patterns of traffic accidents involving elderly pedestrians in Korea. This study conducted surveys and investigations in the field aimed at elderly pedestrians to analyze the causes of traffic accidents that this demographic is involved in. The main results of the survey are as follows: Firstly, the exposure to traffic accidents was higher for elderly pedestrains compared to non-elderly pedestrians. The ratio of elderly pedestrians that had a daily walking period of more than 60 minutes was the highest at 31%. On the other hand, the ratio of non-elderly pedestrians that had a daily walking period between a 15 minutes and 30 minutes was the highest at 26.8%. Secondly, the elderly pedestrians evaluated less danger for traffic accidents while crossing the street than non-elderly pedestrians did. The main results of the on-site investigation are as follows: Firstly, elderly pedestrians show safer walking behavior at the crosswalks with a shelter than those without one. The average walking speed for elderly pedestrians at the crosswalk without a shelter was 1.31m/s, but the average walking speed for elderly pedestrians at a crosswalk with the shelter was 1.21m/s. This means that the walking speed for the elderly pedestrians at the crosswalk with the shelter reduced by 7.6%. On the other hand, the walking speed for non-elderly pedestrians at crosswalks with a shelter reduced 3.6%. The elderly pedestrians showed more stable walking behavior at the crosswalk with the shelter than the non-elderly pedestrians. Secondly, elderly pedestrians show very low waiting ratio at the existing crosswalks with non-signalized shelters. This is because the information is limited whether pedestrians keep crossing the street or not due to no signals at the existing crosswalk with the non-signalized shelter. Thirdly, it is safer to install shelters at crosswalks and additional signals for the safety of elderly pedestrians. Based on the survey results above, this study suggested installing shelters at crosswalks in areas with many elderly.