Traffic accidents involving elderly drivers increase... Half of drivers say "I will not surrender my license even after turning 65"

Voluntary Return Stands at 23%

The number of traffic accidents involving the elderly is steadily increasing, but a survey found that half of drivers have no intention of voluntarily surrendering their driver's licenses even after turning 65. Only one in five drivers said they would voluntarily give up their license.

On the 14th, AXA Insurance announced the results of the "2023 Driver Traffic Safety Awareness Survey" conducted at the end of last year to understand drivers' views on voluntary surrender of driver's licenses by elderly drivers. The survey targeted 1,400 licensed drivers aged 19 and older.

Only 22.9% responded that they intended to voluntarily surrender their driver's license upon reaching the legal elderly age of 65. In contrast, nearly half, 45.8%, said they had no intention of voluntarily surrendering their license, a figure twice as high as those willing to give it up. The remaining 31.4% answered that they were unsure.

Seventy percent of drivers thought that legal regulations forcing license surrender after age 65 are currently unnecessary.

This survey result is also reflected in the current status of elderly license surrenders. According to the Police Agency’s "Statistics on Driver’s License Surrender by Drivers Aged 65 and Older," the surrender rate for drivers aged 65 and above has remained stagnant in the 2% range since 2019. In August of last year, the surrender rate even dropped to 1.3%.

An elderly resident of Dobong-gu, Seoul, is submitting a driver's license and an application form to receive support for a transportation card.
[Photo by Dobong-gu Office]

The problem is that the number of traffic accidents involving elderly drivers, whose reaction times and physical functions are relatively declining, is on the rise. According to the Road Traffic Authority’s Traffic Accident Analysis System (TAAS), traffic accidents caused by elderly drivers increased sharply by 8.8%, from 31,841 cases in 2021 to 34,652 cases in 2022. This contrasts with the overall traffic accidents, which decreased by 3.1%.

In response, local governments and the police operate incentive programs that provide prepaid transportation cards worth approximately 100,000 won to elderly drivers who voluntarily surrender their licenses. However, the AXA Insurance survey found that 45.7% of respondents were unaware of such policy support.

An AXA Insurance official stated, "To reduce traffic accidents among the elderly, it is necessary to promote the existing policies," adding, "Traffic education tailored to elderly drivers’ perspectives and fostering safe driving habits are also important."