Comparing Pedestrian Accidents By Age Group

July 4, 2024
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Over the past few years city officials have had a growing concern about the number of New Haven pedestrian accidents that are happening in the Elm City. The trend of rising accidents among pedestrians has not just been seen here in New Haven, but throughout the state and even nationally as many cities are contending with this very issue.

When thinking about how to tackle this issue and as a pedestrian how to avoid being involved in one of these very difficult accidents it is important to know the facts. While there are many ways to slice up the data and make some determinations about what is happening throughout our city, one of the best ways to understand it is by looking at certain demographics that can affect the safety of those walking or running throughout the city.

The demographic that we are going to focus on today is age. While age plays a role in the safety statistics of all things that happen throughout our city, one of the places it is most glaringly different is when discussing pedestrian accidents. When you look at pedestrian accidents through a demographic lens you can determine some of the safety steps and procedures you can put in place to protect certain age groups. It is also something that will inform the education of certain groups to make sure they are taking the proper steps to avoid an injury.

Let’s break down the numbers based on three different age groups;

1.) Children (under the age of 14) are less likely to be involved in an accident. Compared to adults, the total number of accidents that children experience when they are walking or running throughout the city is lower. That being said, the bad news here is that children have a higher fatality rate when they are involved in an accident. The fatality rate among children is often a result of their smaller size which leaves them more vulnerable to higher speed accidents.

2.) Adults (15-64) are the most susceptible to this kind of accident. Why? Risky behaviors are much more likely among this group. This group is more likely to walk while using a cell phone, walk at night and not use a crosswalk than any other group. Also, a high percentage of accidents that happen to this age group involves intoxication which can impact judgement and reaction times causing more accidents to happen.

3.) Seniors (65+) are similar in experience to young children actually. The rates of accidents decrease among seniors, but fatality rates go up. Part of the reason for higher fatality rates among this group is that they are often compromised physically and reaction times are significantly lower then that of the other groups on this list. The common reasons that seniors will experience a pedestrian accident include things like decreased vision, loss of hearing, difficulty judging speed and distance and confusion with traffic signals.

New Haven pedestrian accidents are on the rise and if you look at the accidents based on age you can see that there are a variety of challenges that city officials face in curbing this disturbing trend. As a pedestrian, or if you’re a parent or guardian of someone in the risky age groups, you will want to make sure you are sharing all of the important safety information you can with those who you are responsible for so they can have a safe experience when living in the city. If safety is the top priority by all of us then these types of accidents will decrease and numbers in all age groups will start to fall.

When an accident happens it is important that you are cared for both medically and legally so your rights are protected. Contact our office and one of our experienced attorneys who has seen many of these types of situations play out will speak with you and work on protecting your long-term interests.