Elderly pedestrian accidents rise in Hong Kong as overall injuries fall

Two or more elderly Hongkongers are killed or injured while crossing the road every day on average, government figures show.

While the overall number of deaths and injuries involving pedestrians has fallen over the past decade, the number of accidents involving senior citizens has risen, according to official statistics studied by the South China Morning Post.

The figures have sparked calls for action as the city grapples with the challenges of ageing, amid projections that the proportion of the city's population aged 65 or above will double to 30 per cent by 2041.

"My office is in Cheung Sha Wan and there we have a lot of older people crossing the road recklessly," said Lilian Chan Lui Ling-yee, an educator and member of government advisory body the Elderly Commission. "They just cross whenever they like and I think that they were never educated or taught how to cross the road. The government really needs to do something."

The government's Information Services Department routinely reports traffic accidents to the media, and almost every day offers details of accidents involving elderly pedestrians.

Between 2004 and last year, 629 Hong Kong pedestrians aged 60 or above were killed in accidents, Transport Department figures show. Some 9,000 were injured in the same period.