JAPAN: Elderly comprise record-high 50.4% of traffic accident deaths in 2010

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TOKYO /  Japan Today / National News / May 24, 2011

A record-high 50.4% of people who died in traffic accidents in 2010 were aged 65 or over, accounting for over half the total for the first time since data become available in 1967, the government said in an annual report Tuesday.

Photo courtesy: japan-photo.de


Of the total death toll of 4,863, down 51 from the year before, 2,450 were elderly, of whom 1,228, or 50.1%, were involved in an accident while walking, 586, or 23.9%, while in a car, and 410, or 16.7%, while riding a bicycle, the 2011 white paper on road safety said.

While noting that car accidents fell substantially from the 1990s thanks to improved automobile safety and increased seatbelt usage, the report called for improving sidewalks and addressing illegal parking to reduce accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists.

© 2011 Kyodo News