Characteristics of older pedestrians who have difficulty crossing the street.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the sociodemographic and health characteristics and problems of older pedestrians. METHODS: Interviews and assessments were conducted with 1249 enrollees aged 72 or older from the New Haven, Conn, community of the Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly who agreed to participate in a seventh follow-up. RESULTS: Approximately 11% of the New Haven residents reported difficulty crossing the street. Older pedestrians needing help in one or more activities of daily living were more than 10 times as likely as others, and those with the slowest walking speeds were nearly 3 times as likely as others, to report difficulty crossing the street. Fewer than 1% of these pedestrians aged 72 or older had a normal walking speed sufficient to cross the street in the time typically allotted at signalized intersections (1.22 m/sec). CONCLUSIONS: Crossing times at signalized intersectíons in areas with large populations of elders should be extended, and the recommended walking speed for timing signalized crossings should be modified to reflect the range of abilities among older pedestrians.

Impact of High-Speed Lines in Relation to Very High Frequency Air Services

“…He explained that the distance to the crosswalks in the area immediately surrounding the senior center was such that it encouraged seniors to make a mid-block crossing "and take their life into their own hands." These comments are directly compatible with the recommendations of Langlois et al (1997) and Carmeli (2002).…”

“…These include pedestrian walkways and habits (Hess et al 1999); relationships between pedestrian accident locations on state owned facilities such as highways and urban arterials and the presence of riders loading and alighting from bus transit (Hess et al 2004); effect of travel speeds and locations on pedestrian accidents (Gårder 2004); leader-follower behavior as it applies to jaywalking (Russell et al 2001); safety of elderly pedestrians during street crossing (Carmeli 2002); sociodemographic and health characteristics and problems of older pedestrians (Langlois et al 1997); safety and security of elderly and disabled travelers through the application of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) (Mitchell and Suen 1998); difference in accident and fatality rates by race and gender (STPP 2002;Campos-Outcalt et al 2003); and benefits of educational campaigns on pedestrian safety (Tyrrell et al 2004;Mendelsohn 1973).…”

Walking Speed in Patients With First Acute Myocardial Infarction Who Participated in a Supervised Cardiac Rehabilitation Program After Coronary Intervention

“…The recommended walking speed for crossing over the road at a signalized intersection is reported to be 1.0-1.2 m/second (60-70 m/minute) for community-dwelling people. 19,20) In this study, only 9.1% of men and 24.4% of women in the elderly AMI subgroup had a walking speed less than 70 m/minute. The main goals of cardiac rehabilitation are to reduce the risk of another cardiovascular event or worsening of existing cardiovascular conditions, and to improve health-related quality of life and daily physical activity levels.…”

Association of physical performance with muscle strength and hip range of motion in hip osteoarthritis

“…However, this disparity in results is probably explained by the difference in performance on the gait speed test. Specifically, the mean habitual gait speed of our participants was 1.2 meters/ second, which is the minimum speed required to cross an intersection (36), and therefore was indicative of a generally high functioning sample. Indeed, only 17 participants walked at a suboptimal speed (Յ1.0 meters/second), and gait speed varied approximately 2-fold (from 0.84 to 1.60 meters/second) ( Table 1).…”