How can we reduce accidents caused by "driving the elderly"?

byGalen Crout

Two high school girls who are going to school are accidentally hit by a car driven by an 85 - year - old man on January 9, 2018Occurred. Death accidents caused by drivers over 75 years old459 cases in 2016There are also voices that it is necessary to have a mechanism for forced return of licenses. In the United States as well as Japan accidents of elderly drivers are considered problematic, but scientific writersJoseph Stromberg"This is not the responsibility of the elderly, but because transportation centered on cars has overlooked such a situation", we are offering "Alternative planning for the elderly" as an example.

Once seniors are too old to drive, our transportation system totally fails them - Vox
https://www.vox.com/2015/6/12/8768827/seniors-aging-car-driving

American Road Safety AssociationAccording to the data of 2008 indicated by, it is like this when graphing the number of deaths of passengers per 100 million miles (about 16,000 km) by age. Although it is less than two people from 30's to 60's, the increase has become noticeable around the age of 75, and it is about nine at the age of 85 and over.


This is because the elderly are physically weaker than young people and it is also because it is easy for injuries to lead to death, but elderly people are thought as a narrow field of vision and a slow reaction time I will.

However, Stromberg points out that it is a mistake to blame the elderly here. Stromberg insists that there is an "oversight" of the transportation system that people lose choices when they become older.

◆ Elderly people become lonely when they pick up driving

byrawpixel.com

Elderly people who live in the suburbs presuming the existence of cars are left behind by the house when they pick up the car and they are severed from society. Even people who are in a healthy state will not be confirmed healthy from friends and family, and if emotional connection with a person is broken, it will be enough for health problems to come out Things that can be thought. In addition, there are people who contribute to society, such as volunteering even for the elderly, so if they are isolated by picking up cars, people and society other than the elderly will suffer a loss . A home for retirees can be a solution,(PDF file)Elderly people over 90%I also know that I'd like to stay in the house I have lived as long as possible.

◆Para transit(Auxiliary transportation) presence

byabi ismail

There is a public transportation system called "para transit" in the United States. Para transit delivers people with disabilities to bus stops and stations, which vary in shape depending on the city, for example San Francisco has a municipal transportation agreement with light vans and taxi companies in San Francisco. It was enacted in 1990American law with disabilityRequested by. One third of paratransit users are over 65 years old.

Auxiliary transportation (Paratransit)
http://www.sfparatransit.com/resources/japanese.htm


The idea of ​​allowing elderly people to use para transit can be a solution, but para transit can only be used by people living within 1.5 miles (about 2.4 km) from the bus route. Also, since users have to contact the day before using para transit beforehand planning to go out, it can not mean "go out whenever you want".

And the biggest problem is that the use of para transit is strict, sometimes limited to people using wheel chair. This limitation is due to the fact that the cost of para transit is increasing year by year. As the number of elderly people increases year by year, the demand for para transit is also growing, but the city transportation authority has not allocated sufficient funds to para transit.


From this also para transit may not function well as a means of transport for the elderly, but the "private shuttle service" which can be thought of as another means cost extremely high. It is difficult for retired people whose income is not stable to use.

◆ Redesign the town
On the other hand, there is an optimistic view on the aged society. Indiana University ·Center for Aging & CommunityAccording to Phil Stafford, the representative of the city, there are also new attempts to change the pattern of the town itself. Lifetime Community Districts is one of them, and in one section of Bloomington, Indiana, a grocery store, a hospital, a park, a parking lot, a parking lot, etc. are located on a road of 3 miles (about 4.8 km) so that elderly people can complete errands on foot or on wheelchairs. · It seems that he plans to concentrate community centers and others.

Lifetime Community Districts | International Making Cities Livable
http://www.livablecities.org/blog/lifetime-community-districts


In addition, efforts to "elder village" in which volunteers and paid staff deliver food items to senior citizens at home and participate in social activities are also conducted in several cities. Some experts believe that the Uber model can be developed to help the elderly's activities. If the city uses something like Uber as standard, and the socializing app is used for the elderly, there is a possibility that para transit will become more efficient. In addition, the appearance of automatic driving cars also dramatically improves the mobility of elderly people, as always.

In Japan, although the number of traffic accidents has been declining year by year, the proportion of accidents involving older drivers aged 65 and older is increasingPolice departmentThe data is shown.