# Causal Factors in Elderly Pedestrian Traffic Injuries Based on Association Analysis
## 4 Discussion
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline
**Influencing Factors** & **Standard Error** & _p_**-Value** & **Exp(B)** & **Log Likelihood** \\ \hline B: Height & 0.011 & 0.063 & 0.98 & \(-\)374.408 \\ A: Age & 0.013 & 0.004 & 1.037 & \(-\)376.682 \\ L: Driver experience & & 0.133 & & \\ L2: 6–15 years & 0.73 & 0.077 & 0.275 & \(-\)374.705 \\ L3: More than 15 years & 0.73 & 0.074 & 0.271 & \(-\)376.542 \\ K: Awareness & 0.184 & 0.914 & 1.02 & \(-\)372.574 \\ I: Collision speed & 0.005 & 0.00 & 1.024 & \(-\)385.484 \\ V: Road type & & 0.89 & & \\ V3: Intersection & 0.59 & 0.631 & 1.328 & \(-\)370.656 \\ V4: Crossroad & 0.6 & 0.758 & 1.203 & \(-\)371.264 \\ V5: Ramp entrance & 0.619 & 0.564 & 1.43 & \(-\)373.574 \\ W: Time of day & & 0.00 & & \\ W1: Daytime & 0.335 & 0.00 & 0.245 & \(-\)386.412 \\ W3: Dusk & 0.348 & 0.014 & 0.425 & \(-\)383.576 \\ Y: Accident location & & 0.005 & & \\ Y2 and Y4: Village and suburban & 0.267 & 0.647 & 1.13 & \(-\)372.641 \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 3: Regression result. improve, and their proficiency in vehicle control and adherence to traffic rules enable them to effectively avoid accidents and reduce pedestrian injury risks. Therefore, measures such as enhancing driver training, encouraging knowledge transfer, strengthening traffic law awareness, employing simulation-based training, and implementing ongoing education can assist drivers in rapidly accumulating experience and improving their safe driving proficiency. The driver's awareness of the elderly pedestrian did not significantly impact the mortality rate (\(p\)-value = 0.914), with Exp(B) equal to 1.02, indicating that this factor has a minimal effect on mortality. This suggests that, once a collision occurs, the severity of the accident is more influenced by the collision speed and environmental conditions than by the driver's ability to notice the elderly pedestrian beforehand. Collision speed significantly affects elderly pedestrian mortality (\(p\)-value = 0.00), with Exp(B) = 1.024, indicating that, for each unit increase in collision speed, the mortality rate rises by 2.4%. The increase in speed significantly amplifies the kinetic energy during a collision, leading to greater impact forces and more severe injuries. Additionally, higher speeds reduce the driver's reaction time and braking distance, making collision avoidance more difficult. Furthermore, the effectiveness of vehicle safety systems decreases at higher speeds, and the human body--particularly of elderly individuals--has limited capacity to withstand high-energy impacts, thereby increasing the risk of serious injury and death. To mitigate this risk, a combination of measures such as speed limits, enhanced traffic law education, improved road design, promotion of intelligent driving assistance systems, and the enhancement of vehicle safety should be implemented to effectively reduce the impact of high-speed collisions on mortality. The type of road does not significantly affect elderly pedestrian mortality (with high significance), but at intersections, cross junctions, and ramp junctions, pedestrian mortality is higher at cross junctions and ramp junctions, with Exp(B) values of 1.328 and 1.43, respectively. These road sections have complex traffic flow, and the frequent interaction between elderly pedestrians and vehicles makes collisions more likely. Both elderly pedestrians and vehicles face more traffic conflict points on these sections, which increases the likelihood of accidents. The time of day significantly affects elderly pedestrian mortality (\(p\)-value = 0.00). The mortality rate during the day significantly decreases, with Exp(B) of 0.245, and the mortality rate during dusk also significantly decreases, with Exp(B) of 0.425. This is because visibility is better during the day and at dusk, which allows drivers to see the road conditions more clearly and take evasive actions earlier. Additionally, during these periods, drivers are typically more awake and alert, with better concentration and stronger decision-making abilities.