Crash characteristics of older pedestrian fatalities: Dementia pathology may be related to 'at risk' traffic situations

Gorrie, CA; Brown, J; Waite, PME

Crash characteristics of older pedestrian fatalities: Dementia pathology may be related to 'at risk' traffic situations

Gorrie, CA

Brown, J Waite, PME

Permalink

Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Accident Analysis and Prevention, 2008, 40 (3), pp. 912 - 919
Issue Date:: 2008-05-01

Closed Access

	Filename	Description	Size
	2010000621OK.pdf		152.77 kB	Adobe PDF	View/Open

Copyright Clearance Process

Recently Added
In Progress
Closed Access

This item is closed access and not available.

Full metadata record

Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Gorrie, CA https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5934-2492	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Brown, J	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Waite, PME	en_US
dc.date.available	2007-10-21	en_US
dc.date.issued	2008-05-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Accident Analysis and Prevention, 2008, 40 (3), pp. 912 - 919	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0001-4575	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/17020
dc.description.abstract	Older people are over represented among pedestrian casualties, and cognitive decline is an often cited possible contributory factor. Cognitive decline and dementia are intimately associated, however the role dementia might play in older pedestrian crashes has received little attention. This study describes crash characteristics for 52 fatally injured older pedestrians in the Sydney metropolitan area. It investigates the relationship between the extent of neurofibrillary tangles (NFT), a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease in the brain, and particular crash situations. The results demonstrate crash characteristics that are similar to that reported in other studies of older pedestrians. Furthermore, the results suggest that cognitive decline associated with dementia related neuropathology may be associated with specific crash situations. Compared to older pedestrians with no, or low NFT, those with moderate to high NFT were more likely to be: at least partially responsible for the incident; injured while in low complexity situations; involved in impacts with reversing vehicles; impacted in near lanes of traffic; and struck by a vehicle off road. While described as trends only (p < 0.2), these findings highlight areas of concern for older pedestrians and suggest potential targets for engineering and behaviour-based countermeasures aimed at reducing casualty numbers among older pedestrians. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Accident Analysis and Prevention	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.aap.2007.10.006	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Logistics & Transportation	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Neurofibrillary Tangles	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Humans	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Dementia	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Walking	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Autopsy	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Health Status Indicators	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Risk Assessment	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Risk Factors	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Cognition Disorders	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Neuropsychological Tests	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Accidents, Traffic	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Aged	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Aged, 80 and over	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	New South Wales	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Female	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Male	en_US
dc.title	Crash characteristics of older pedestrian fatalities: Dementia pathology may be related to 'at risk' traffic situations	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	3	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	40	en_US
utslib.for	1117 Public Health and Health Services	en_US
utslib.for	1507 Transportation and Freight Services	en_US
utslib.for	1701 Psychology	en_US
dc.location.activity	ISI:000256782000009	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Science/School of Life Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - CHT - Health Technologies
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	3	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	40	en_US

Abstract:

Older people are over represented among pedestrian casualties, and cognitive decline is an often cited possible contributory factor. Cognitive decline and dementia are intimately associated, however the role dementia might play in older pedestrian crashes has received little attention. This study describes crash characteristics for 52 fatally injured older pedestrians in the Sydney metropolitan area. It investigates the relationship between the extent of neurofibrillary tangles (NFT), a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease in the brain, and particular crash situations. The results demonstrate crash characteristics that are similar to that reported in other studies of older pedestrians. Furthermore, the results suggest that cognitive decline associated with dementia related neuropathology may be associated with specific crash situations. Compared to older pedestrians with no, or low NFT, those with moderate to high NFT were more likely to be: at least partially responsible for the incident; injured while in low complexity situations; involved in impacts with reversing vehicles; impacted in near lanes of traffic; and struck by a vehicle off road. While described as trends only (p < 0.2), these findings highlight areas of concern for older pedestrians and suggest potential targets for engineering and behaviour-based countermeasures aimed at reducing casualty numbers among older pedestrians. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/17020