Repeated Traffic Accidents Involving Elderly Drivers...Urgent Need for Practical Measures

Over 40,000 Traffic Accidents Involving Those Aged 65 and Over
Only 5.77% Have Returned Their Driver's Licenses

Recently, a driver in their 60s caused a major traffic accident near Seoul City Hall Station, resulting in significant casualties, raising urgent calls for realistic management and countermeasures for elderly drivers.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the Traffic Accident Analysis System (TAAS) on the 3rd, traffic accidents involving drivers aged 65 and older were recorded as 33,239 cases in 2019, 31,072 in 2020, 31,841 in 2021, 34,652 in 2022, and 39,614 in 2023. As of last year, drivers aged 65 and older accounted for 19.9% of all traffic accident offenders.

In fact, traffic accidents involving elderly drivers continue to occur without pause. In April, a driver in their 90s suddenly drove onto a sidewalk while trying to move their car in the parking lot of the Pangyo Senior Welfare Center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, injuring four pedestrians. In February, a man in his 70s driving a sports utility vehicle (SUV) on a road near Yeonsinnae Station in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, collided with several vehicles and more than ten pedestrians.

Criticism has also been raised that the “Senior Driver’s License Return Program” implemented by local governments is ineffective. Since 2019, Seoul City has been providing a prepaid transportation card loaded with 100,000 won to those aged 70 and older who return their driver’s licenses. According to Seoul City, 25,489 people returned their licenses last year, representing a return rate of only 5.77%. A Seoul city official explained, “The number of returns is inevitably affected by the budget size,” adding, “There are various opinions that 100,000 won is insufficient, but there are budget limitations.”

In response, the government began reviewing the introduction of a “conditional license system” last year. The core idea is to allow licenses with conditions such as prohibiting night driving, highway driving, and speed limits for high-risk drivers whose driving abilities have declined.

However, concerns were raised that this excessively infringes on the mobility rights of elderly drivers. Ultimately, the government revised the target of the conditional license system from “elderly” to “high-risk” drivers and plans to revisit the issue after the research project on the “Introduction Plan for Conditional Licenses for the Elderly” concludes at the end of this year.

Professor Choi Jae-won of the Korea Road Traffic Authority stated, “Since the nationwide rate of elderly drivers returning their licenses has been only 3%, it is time to consider other realistic measures,” and argued, “Japan’s ‘emergency braking system,’ which automatically stops the car even if the driver presses the accelerator instead of the brake when a vehicle or person is detected ahead, should be introduced, and government support is necessary for this.”

He added, “From an expert’s perspective, the currently discussed conditional license system is the right direction, but public consensus is needed to implement it,” and emphasized, “We must consider practical issues and actively examine foreign cases when introducing such measures.”