What must we do to reduce pedestrian slips and falls?

Slips are a primary cause of workplace injury as well as the leading cause of injury-related death in the elderly. Prolonged efforts have been made to understand the causes of such accidents in order to reduce their incidence and severity. It is well accepted that there are several environmental factors (i.e. surfaces, footwear, contaminants and lighting) and human factors (i.e. biomechanics, neuromuscular control and sensory capabilities) that contribute to such accidents. There will soon be two new Australian slip resistance Standards and a handbook that will replace AS 366 I,Slip resistance of pedestrian surfaces. While these Standards deal with the measurement of new and existing pedestrian surfaces, the handbook will provide guidance on selecting and maintaining floor surfaces, the forensic investigation of accidents and some other relevant aspects. A number of traditionally separate research areas must interact in order to solve this multifactorial problem. Marpet (1) identified economic analysis, gait dynamics, human factors, mechanics of friction, probability and risk assessment, and tribometry (the study of devices used to measure pedestrian slip resistance) as research areas that needed to come together to develop a sound research plan. To what extent are fall intervention programs being hampered by unsolved problems in other research areas! CSIRO proposes to hold a workshop where key stakeholders can determine what research is required. The gaps identified in this paper should facilitate such discussion. Critical policy decisions are needed if proactive injury prevention is to replace backward-looking, regulation-mandated slip resistance remediation.