Safety for seniors who walk alone

The walk is worth protecting

A daily walk is one of the best things you can do for your strength, balance and mood, and walking on your own schedule is part of the pleasure. The aim here is not to talk you out of it. It is to handle the few things that make a neighborhood walk riskier as you get older, so you and the people who care about you can stop worrying about it.

Those things are fairly specific: a trip on a broken sidewalk, a car turning at an intersection, a hot afternoon, an icy morning, and the chance that if you did fall, nobody would know for hours.

Sidewalks, curbs and falls

The CDC reports that about 1 in 4 adults aged 65 and older report a fall each year, and that falls are the leading cause of injury in that age group. On a walk, the usual culprits are lifted sidewalk slabs, curbs, wet leaves, gravel and ice.

Walk a route you know, where you have already spotted the bad patches. Wear shoes with a firm sole and good grip, and bring a cane or walking poles if you use them at all. In winter, walk after the sun has had time to melt frost, or walk indoors on icy days. The CDC's fall prevention advice is worth raising with your doctor: ask your doctor or pharmacist to review medicines that might make you dizzy or sleepy, do exercises that strengthen your legs and improve balance (Tai Chi is the example it gives), and have your eyes checked at least once a year.

Street crossings and heat

The CDC notes that adults 65 and older were about 17% of the U.S. population in 2022 but 22% of all pedestrian deaths that year. Cross at marked crossings with signals where you can, wait for the full walk signal rather than starting on a flashing one, and watch for cars turning into your crosswalk. Brighter clothing helps drivers see you, especially at dusk; our guide to reflective gear covers options that work for walkers too.

Heat is the other quiet risk. The CDC says older adults adjust less well to sudden temperature changes and are more likely to take medicines that affect sweating or temperature control. On hot days, walk early in the morning, carry water, choose a shaded route, or walk indoors. If you feel confused, dizzy or faint in the heat, stop, get somewhere cool and call 911. Our answer on walking safely in the heat has more.

A simple setup for your daily walk

Holler runs in your phone's web browser today, so there is nothing to install from an app store, and your family can see your location without downloading an app. If you would like a family member to set it up with you the first time, that is a good idea: they will know what the alerts look like when they arrive. Carry a card with your name, emergency contact and medications too; our emergency card tool makes one.

A morning walk, start to finish

Picture a 40-minute loop at 8:00 a.m.: down to the park, once around the pond, and back past the pharmacy. Before leaving, you put your phone in your zipped jacket pocket and start the live link. Your daughter gets a notification at work and sees you are out.

The return time is 9:00, twenty minutes more than you need, so a longer chat on the bench does not set anything off. The stationary alert is 15 minutes. You stop to talk to a neighbor for ten, and nothing happens. You get home at 8:45 and end the walk, and your daughter sees it has ended.

If you had tripped on the path by the pond and could not get up, the stationary alert would ask if you were OK after 15 minutes. With no answer, your daughter would get an alert showing where you were. If you can reach the phone, call 911 yourself first. Our answer on what to do if you fall while walking alone covers the first few minutes after a fall.

What your family should know

For family, the point of the link is quiet reassurance, not watching every step. They do not need to follow the dot. They need to know that an alert means something, and what to do when one arrives.

Agree the plan together: an SOS or unanswered stationary alert means call right away. If there is no answer, call a neighbor who can walk over, and call 911 if you cannot be reached, giving your last known location from the link and any health conditions. Holler cannot sense a fall or a medical problem directly, and it never contacts 911 itself. If your family wants monitored help around the clock, a medical alert service is a different kind of product and can sit alongside this. For their side of things, share when to worry if someone is late back from a walk.

A note to pin on the fridge or send to family: "Morning walk most days around 8, the pond loop, back by 9. If you get an SOS or an alert I don't answer, call me, then call Mrs. Lee next door (555-0142), then 911 with the location from the link. I take blood thinners." Swap in your own route, neighbor and medications.