Pedestrian fatalities most likely to involve seniors

“Walking seniors are dying in record numbers on Virginia’s roads,” reports AAA Mid-Atlantic.

Statewide, there were 37 fatalities involving pedestrians age 65 or older in 2019, compared to 19 in 2018.

Fairfax County had 16 pedestrian deaths in 2019, including six people age 65 or older, the most of any jurisdiction in Virginia. There were five pedestrian deaths in Fairfax County so far in 2020, including a 60-year-old man.

In 2019, pedestrian deaths in Mason District occurred in April on Peyton Randolph Drive (involving a 74-year-old victim), in May on Little River Turnpike (the victim was 62), in July on Leesburg Pike (the victim was 66), and in August on Columbia Pike. In October a man was struck and killed by a police cruiser on Arlington Boulevard.

During 2018 and 2019, Fairfax County had the second-highest number of pedestrian fatalities in the Washington metro area, following Prince George’s County, Md.

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Failure to cross the street at an intersection is the top factor leading to senior pedestrian deaths, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.

“The huge increase in senior pedestrian fatalities in Virginia is alarming. AAA reminds all seniors to cross either at intersections or clearly marked crosswalks, attempt to signal drivers or make eye contact with them before stepping onto the roadway, and to wear visible clothing when walking,” says AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesperson Morgan Dean.

The most common times for seniors to be struck were sunset (6-9 p.m.) and sunrise (6-9 a.m.) when it can be more difficult for both drivers and senior pedestrians to see due to poor lighting or the angle of the sun.

The Board of Supervisors approved a proposal Feb. 11 by Walter Alcorn (Hunter Mill) and Rodney Lusk (Lee) calling for the Active Fairfax Plan to address ways to make the county safer for pedestrians and bicyclists.

The Active Fairfax Plan is being developed by the county’s Department of Transportation with the goal of improving the ability of residents to get around safely without getting into a car, bus, or train. The plan should also address “what is literally a life-and-death issue over the short and long term,” Alcorn said.

The BoS also agreed to have the board’s transportation committee look at how new technologies can be used to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety without waiting for the completion of the Active Fairfax Plan.