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Stop! Elderly crossing!

I don't know if it's just me but there seem to be more articles in the papers these days reporting people stating the obvious. Nothing else to report or what?

In yesterday's Sunday Times, there was this article entitled 'Make roads safer for the elderly, say experts'. Ground-breaking, isn't it? The paper interviewed the elderly and experts on the issue of elderly pedestrians and their road-crossing habits and came to this intelligent conclusion:

"Most felt that pedestrian crossing lights should stay green longer, and that there should be more traffic light crossings instead of overhead bridges."

Duh.

The problem of the elderly jaywalking is nothing new. The fact that older people take longer to cross the road is nothing new. The fact that older people prefer road crossings to overhead bridges is nothing new (Wah, don't say older people. I also avoid overhead bridges.)

This guy from the National Safety Council so kindly said that "many elderly pedestrians are vulnerable because they do not take the trouble to look out, cannot make the crossing in time or are carrying heavy loads... Often, elderly people such as karung guni men pull big bags or trolleys. And I've heard of elderly women who jaywalk and expect traffic to stop for them by holding up their hands."

What kind of attitude is that? Never heard of empathy ah? Think it's easy to be old, have trouble walking fast (or have trouble walking) and have to carry big bags or loads across the road ah?

Anyway, I thought it should have been obvious that something needed to be done for elderly road users long before we got worried about our ageing population. I remember some twenty years ago, my driving instructor already made it a point to remind me to look out for the elderly on the roads. They don't know the highway code, he used to say.

May I also add that they also need to look into the issue of more older drivers on the road, building lifts in multi-storey car parks and such.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Haven't you heard? The old folks are going to be placed in JB where their children can visit them once a week. So then no need to worry about them on our roads anymore.
Anonymous said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said…
Actually, I thought 'retirement villages' were fairly high class places which one chooses to 'retire' in. Maybe I'm wrong because there were many comments that talked of them as homes where elderly parents get 'dumped'.
Anonymous said…
Retirement villages are for old people who are mobile and not in need of medical assistance. Quite different from nursing homes which are for people who need constant medical attention. I'm all for overseas retirement villages; it'll be like being on a long overseas vacation with lower cost of living. But if I had to stay in a nursing home, I'd rather be in one close to my children.
Anonymous said…
Ok, so did the minister speak of both retirement villages and nursing homes going across the causeway? I recall the mention of retirement villages but I must admit I didn't pay attention.
Anonymous said…
He was talking about nursing homes. He even said if there were any medical problems, an ambulance can bring them back here to a Singapore hospital. I can just imagine the elderly breathing their last in the ambulance at immigration while the vehicle is being searched for Mas Selamat.
Anonymous said…
Hmmm... not a great idea...

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