America Has a Floor Safety Problem. We Can Fix The Test Process | Opinion
Summary
Many older Americans suffer serious injuries or die from falling on slippery floors, but the U.S. does not have a clear, standard way to measure how safe floors are. Experts say there are good tools to test slipperiness, but confusion over different testing methods makes it hard to know which floors are safe.Key Facts
- Over 43,000 Americans aged 65 and older died from falls in 2024.
- About 4.5 million emergency visits in older adults were due to fall-related injuries.
- More than 25% of older adults fall each year in the U.S.
- Floors can be tested for slipperiness using a measurement called the Pendulum coefficient-of-friction test.
- The UK uses the Pendulum test as its main standard for floor safety, and similar tests exist in the U.S.
- Different organizations use various testing methods and numbers, causing confusion.
- A number describing floor slipperiness is not useful unless it includes how the test was done.
- The American population over 65 has grown to 61.2 million in 2024 and is expected to increase further.
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