Google Street View enables quick risk assessment for older Novel Zealanders

Google Street View has quickly become a tool for people who want to get a feel for a community, look at real estate – and sometimes prank a tech giant when his mapping car drives by. However, it also has the potential to prevent falls and injuries in Novel Zealand urban environments.

Falls are a leading cause of injury and accidental death among older adults, but identifying the location of outdoor hazards is laborious and time-consuming.

in ours new researchwe have created a tool using Google Street View to audit the places where people walk.

The aim of our fresh tool – Fall-SAFE – is to identify hazards in Novel Zealand’s built environment and create a database for local authorities and community groups to understand where and why an older person may fall.

Costly risk

Annually, one in three people over 65 years of age suffer injuries from falls. This number increases to one to two for people over 80 years of age.

Only in 2023 ACC received 236,985 new claims in the case of falls in people over 60 years of age. Many of these falls resulted in stern injuries such as broken hips, hospitalization, and even death.

It’s not just older people who are at risk of falling – although they are by far the largest group. Last year, ACC paid out NZ$2.15 billion to cover falls claims.

The effects of falls go further than just medical recovery. Older people who have fallen outdoors or who are afraid of falling due to the perceived risk may be less willing to go for walks. Then they lose physical, mental and social benefits this type of activity.

Environmental assessment

Using data from emergency services Hato Hone St Johnwe identified 2,117 falls between July 2016 and June 2018 in urban areas involving adults aged 65 years and older. Wellington was excluded because the city uses a different ambulance service.

Auditors then used Google Street View to assess the locations of these falls and identify hazards in the built environment that may have contributed to them. These hazards included tripping hazards, uneven footpaths, obstacles (such as overgrown bushes), and slopes.

In their assessment, the auditors used the “drop-and-spin” method, in which they conducted a 360° audit of the fall site. Google Maps photos were arranged to be as close to the date of the accident as possible.

Drop-and-spin virtual audits are faster than physical audits, but just as reliable. Moreover, virtual drop-and-spin audits enable the assessment of gigantic geographic areas that would be tough to inspect in person.

Understanding the streets of Novel Zealand

After examining various fall locations, we gained a better understanding of where falls occurred and what hazards may have contributed to them.

Half of all falls occurred in residential locations (49.1%) and a quarter occurred in commercial locations (22.4%). A further 16.2% of falls occurred in ‘other’ locations (such as rural or industrial areas).

In over 60% of fall sites, at least one trip hazard was due to poorly maintained sidewalks. The most common obstacles were manholes, installation covers or grates (71.5%), poles (65.4%), utility boxes (46.6%) and plant overhangs (39.5%). Other obstacles, such as bus shelters, chairs and tables, and drains, were recorded in 64.5% of locations.

Three-quarters of falls occurred in places with flat or gentle slopes (76.3%). Only 15.5% of falls occurred on a moderate slope, while 8.2% occurred on a steep slope.

The majority (95.6%) of the fall sites had normal curb height (ten centimeters). In several locations there were no curbs (2.3%) or stormwater drainage (2%). In most autumn locations, streetlights were present either on one side of the street (including partial or very few locations) (54%), or on both sides (44%). In 0.9% of the facilities there were no street lamps evident.

Of all the locations we assessed, just under 6% had no obvious risk. This seems to indicate that external factors were a contributing factor in the enormous majority of falls – although without information from the person who fell, it is tough to say for sure.

Cheaper and faster option

The current approach to assessing the safety of urban environments – sending people to physically inspect a pedestrian path to identify problems – can be time-consuming and high-priced.

And there is simply no money for this work. A few tips, including: Hamilton AND Mastertonannounced significant cuts to Novel Zealand Transport Agency funding for maintaining and repairing footpaths and cycle paths.

Another concern is that assessors may not fully understand the experiences of older people in these locations. A risk to someone 65+ may not seem like a risk to someone in their 30s or 40s.

Understanding the factors that contribute to falls in older people – such as obstacles and trip hazards – allows city planners to address problems in the built environment.

Our free audit tool enables councils and support groups to look at their environments to understand risks. In our study, we applied this method to places where we know people have fallen, but this tool can be used to assess risk in any environment.

Investing time and effort now to address your fall risk early could save you money – and lives – down the road.