AGE ACTION has demanded an "urgent response" from road safety authorities following the publication of a survey that finds elderly people are more than 1.5 times more likely to die on Irish roads than those under 65.
The report, published today by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), found that in Ireland an average of more than 13 elderly people per 100,000 elderly population die on the roads each year, compared with an average of eight fatalities per 100,000 of the population below that age.
Ireland is 21st out of the list of 30 countries ranked in terms of road safety for those over 65.
However, the survey found Ireland had reduced such road deaths by below the EU average, with an average annual drop of 3.21 per cent since 1997.
Elderly pedestrians were significantly more at risk than younger road users in Ireland.
Age Action spokesman Eamon Timmins said the rate of pensioner road deaths was "unacceptable".
He said Road Safety Authority figures showed 42 per cent of pedestrians killed in 2006 were over 65.
In contrast, just 17 per cent of drivers killed and 4 per cent of car passengers killed were aged 65 and over.
"We have plenty of statistics to show where the problems lie, we now need action from local authorities and others who have responsibility for road safety to address the factors which are resulting in so many avoidable deaths," Mr Timmins said.
He called for a "multifaceted" response that would include improved public transport, better footpaths, pedestrian crossings and public lighting, and continuing public education.
"Many older people living in rural areas who do not drive are left with no option but to walk along poorly lit roads which do not have footpaths," he said.
Approximately 8,000 older people die in road crashes in the EU per year, accounting for one-fifth of all road deaths.
However, the ETSC warned that by 2050 a rising elderly population will see over-65s accounting for one in three road fatalities.
The World Health Organisation called for an "urgent rethink" of transport policies to reduce the number of older people dying on European roads.