The Hidden Costs of Trips and Falls

A third of older adults limit or avoid walking in their local streets because of cracked or uneven pavements and nearly half would walk more if pavements were better maintained, Living Streets research has found (Slips, Trips and Falls, 2023).

The report highlights the drawbacks of the current approach to pedestrian safety. Data collection is not standardised and location data is not collected. The Department of Transport’s Asset Management System enables local transport authorities to limit or avoid paying compensation if they demonstrate compliance with their pavement maintenance programme, even if this is inadequate.

Our Freedom of Information request to Addenbrooke’s, reported in the Cambridge Independent (28.1.26), disclosed that “hundreds of pedestrians, most over 65, needed emergency admission to hospital following trips and falls when walking outdoors, with older people also suffering recurrent falls”. This comes at a high cost to the NHS, as do County Council costs for social care if longer-term rehabilitation is needed. The county council may be saving money by deferring repairs but increasing its social care costs. Time to review and rebalance?

What’s the agenda for action? We need a major rethink and re-prioritisation to achieve a safe walking/wheeling environment for all Cambridge pedestrians. This demands a better asset management approach, with more investment in pavement repair and renewal and other safeguards, such as pedestrian-oriented crossings, street lighting and drainage.

A wider local ban on pavement parking would protect pedestrian space: we hope the County Council will use their powers vigorously. To set priorities for action we also need accurate and consistent local authority data on the location/cause of trips and falls to set alongside NHS data on emergency admissions, hospital stays and their costs.