According to a story in the Telegraph, rubber pavements could be introduced in the UK, to help prevent serious accidents if people have a fall.
In the EU, including the UK, at least 38,000 people a year die as a consequence of falls, more than half of which occur outside. A new rubberized surface created from recycled tyres is hard and durable enough for use on cycle lanes and walkways.
Sweden is leading the way with plans to lay nearly 1,000ft of shock-absorbing pavements in central areas of Lund and Helsingborg. Interestingly, according to Forbes, this is nothing new; before the widespread adoption of asphalt as a road and sidewalk surface in the 1920s, city roads and sidewalks had many different surfaces, often wood but also rubber.
Does anyone remember the film Flubber?