Pedestrian-Vehicle Collision Vulnerability in Senior Citizens’ Walking Environment: An Area-Level Investigation of Seoul, South Korea

Abstract

The safety of senior pedestrians is a major challenge in cities, particularly in a rapidly aging society. This study takes place in Seoul, South Korea, where pedestrian safety in highly urban environments poses a major threat. Using several big databases, the study investigated 142 frequent collision areas where 583 pedestrian-vehicle collisions involving seniors were reported in 2017. Using Poisson and negative binomial regression, we modeled the relationship between collisions and three sets of area-specific environmental characteristics: land-use; transportation and pedestrian infrastructures; and population characteristics. Two different scales of walking environment of senior citizens were investigated: the frequent collision areas (200-meter radius), and their pedestrian sheds (1-kilometer radius). The study further dissectedcommercial areas and roadways into types of destinations and roadway classifications, and found that the neighborhoods with a higher number of medical institutes and a denser network of minor roads were associated with higher risk of collisions. The study found that senior pedestrians were more vulnerable in low-income neighborhoods, especially in the areas with larger resident and floating population of seniors. The findings from the study provided some meaningful information on the risk of collision, and policy implications to improve the safety of senior pedestrians.