For seniors, it's a battlefield out there

By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

"I thought I left all my battles behind me when I retired," said the 73-year-old Cockett. "But now I find myself in a battle for survival every day on the streets and highways with all those speeding cars hurtling down the roads."

Cockett, spokesman for the new Walk Wise Kupuna pedestrian safety program, told more than 200 members of the Lanakila Senior Citizen Center he had been struck by a car on one of his frequent walks through Kahala.

The driver was distracted as she searched for an unfamiliar cross street, he said. Cockett was lucky he saw her coming and could throw himself on the car hood to lessen the impact.

• Nearly 100 pedestrians older than 60 have been killed by collisions with cars or other vehicles on O'ahu in the past seven years.

• Seniors 65 and older make up 11 percent of the state's population, but represent 60 percent of pedestrian fatalities.

• In 2002, O'ahu had 25 pedestrian fatalities; 15 of those pedestrians were 65 years or older. Hawai'i ranked fourth in the nation that year in pedestrian deaths per capita.

"We don't call them accidents; we call them collisions because they could have been avoided," said Honolulu Police Chief Lee Donohue.

The new program is aimed at educating the state's elderly population about the dangers of being a pedestrian, and how to be safer when they walk.

"We want you to walk, but we want you to walk safely," Cheryl Soon, director of the city Transportation Services department, told the Lanakila group.

With a grant from the state's Safe Communities Office, city officials will use television commercials and group meetings to inform seniors about safe pedestrian techniques.

Drivers also will be targeted. Cockett plans to go to dozens of community and business groups in coming months to ask for help slowing down drivers, which officials say is key to reducing fatalities.

"I'd just tell everybody to slow down," said 80-year-old Sonny Wong, who leads a twice-weekly seniors walking group through Kalihi.

Wong said he never had an accident in 15 years of leading the walks, but he has seen plenty of drivers come closer than they should.

"I put one foot into the intersection, put my hand out, wave my red hat at them and wait until I'm sure they see me. Otherwise we don't go," he said. "Sometimes, though, they just ignore it. They look at me like 'Who he?' and just keep driving."

Wong's extra cautious approach is exactly right, said Honolulu Police Officer Mel Andres, who gave a 20-minute presentation on the right — and wrong — ways to walk around town.

"Make eye contact with every driver," he said. "Don't feel safe just because you're in a crosswalk. You may end up getting killed in that crosswalk."

Kay Adania, head of the Okinawan Club at the center, said she was shocked to hear from officials that Japanese residents make up a disproportionately high 39 percent of all the senior pedestrians killed in the state. By contrast, Caucasians, the state's largest ethnic group, accounted for only 9 percent of the fatalities from 1994 to 2000.

"I can't explain it, but that sure got my attention," she said.

Donohue, who said he was almost struck by a car once while wearing his full police uniform in a crosswalk, said the most dangerous time for pedestrians is in the early morning, when the rising sun can blind drivers to people crossing an intersection. That's when many retired people like to be out for their morning exercise, he said.

The biggest problem, though, is inattentive drivers. "The drivers and the pedestrians both have to share some of the responsibility for what's going on," the chief said.

Reach Mike Leidemann at 525-5460 or mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com.