More help needed for elderly pedestrians
More can be done to help elderly pedestrians and prevent them from getting into road accidents, say road safety experts.
The Traffic Police said yesterday that the number of accidents involving elderly pedestrians had increased by 19.6 per cent last year, compared with 2015.
Twenty-eight of them died from road accidents last year, up from the 23 in 2015.
Singapore Road Safety Council chairman Bernard Taysuggested that improvements could be made to crossings to make them more elderly-friendly and for more Silver Zones to be introduced.
For example, overhead bridges could be made with gentler slopes or with rest points midway for the elderly to catch their breath while climbing, he said.
"We need to convince the elderly... to use the proper crossings," he said.
Traffic Police Commander Sam Tee said yesterday that they are continually working with the Land Transport Authority on possible changes to the road traffic infrastructure to cater to elderly pedestrians.
Nanyang Technological University transport consultant Gopinath Menon said there was also a need to educate the public - including motorists and elderly pedestrians themselves - on road safety.
"Ultimately, it's about attitudes. Elderly pedestrians should be more conscious (of road safety), while motorists should be more careful and gracious," he said.
The Traffic Police said yesterday that their Road Master Test Kit - which was launched last November to test seniors' road sense and strengthen their road safety awareness - will be made available via dispensers at bus stops in neighbourhoods with high concentration of senior citizens such as Outram, Bishan and Serangoon.
Elderly persons can use their senior citizen concession ez-link cards to redeem a kit from the dispenser.
Since the dispensers were set up on Feb 2, 1,058 kits have been redeemed, the Traffic Police said.
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