Falls caused by wonky pavements have “serious consequences”

Some nine people a day end up at hospital emergency departments because of a fall caused by uneven or slippery pavements, a new report by safety organisation Veiligheid.nl into accidents among pedestrians has shown.

This type of incident, in which no one else is involved, often goes unrecorded because it does not qualify as a traffic accident. However, the consequences for the people involved can be dramatic, the report said.

In 2022, some 20,000 people were injured and needed emergency hospital care following a fall in the street, compared to just 14,000 people who were wounded while traveling in a car.

Over 5,000 people broke bones and had to be admitted and almost 100 died from the consequences of the fall.

The report, on behalf of the infrastructure ministry, is based on the findings of several emergency departments which logged the circumstances of every person who came in with fall-related injuries over the course of a year. The majority were over 60.

Asked about the circumstances of their fall, they said tiredness could have played a role, or problems with balance. However, some 40% said loose or wonky pavement tiles, protruding tree roots or sloping pavements had also been a factor.

Reporting pavement flaws is encouraged by local councils and many act promptly. Amsterdam, which logged some 20,000 reports about maintenance of pavements, streets and parking spots, reacted within a week in nine out of 10 cases.

However, the combination of the factors that lead to a fall in the street cannot be reduced to measuring the height of pavements or the extent to which a tile can stick out (no more than 3 cm). “What is perfectly fine for one person may be too much for an 80-year-old with balance problems,” Susanne Nijman of Veiligheid.nl told Trouw.

The researchers said they hope the report will raise awareness among those responsible for the maintenance of outside space, policymakers and pedestrians themselves.

Earlier this week, figures from statistics agency CBS showed that the number of people dying after a fall had quadrupled in the last 20 years.

Some 7,000 people died as a result of falling in 2023, 12% more than in the previous year.