Is Sudden Acceleration Exclusive to the Elderly? ... Reports Are More Frequent Among Those Under 50

Half of 'Sudden Acceleration Suspected' Accident Reports Are from Those Under 50
No Confirmed Cases Related to Sudden Acceleration
Experts Say "Urgent Sudden Acceleration Measures Needed"
Calls Grow for Pedal Black Box Implementation

Recently, following the 'City Hall Station wrong-way driving accident' and the 'National Medical Center taxi crash accident,' a series of traffic accidents caused by drivers aged 65 and older, including the 'playground wall crash accident,' have been reported, sparking public opinion to restrict elderly drivers' licenses. Meanwhile, it has been revealed that more than half of the 'sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) suspected' accidents reported to government agencies over the past 10 years were filed by people aged 50 and below.

On the 9th, an accident occurred in an apartment complex in Busan where a car driven by a man in his 70s crashed into a playground. The driver claimed that the vehicle experienced sudden unintended acceleration.
[Photo by Busan Sasang Police Station]

According to data submitted by the Korea Transportation Safety Authority to the office of Ahn Tae-joon, a member of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, the automobile recall center operated by the authority received a total of 456 reports of 'sudden unintended acceleration claims' from 2014 to June this year, a period of 10 years and 6 months. Among these, the age of the reporter was confirmed in 396 cases.

Breaking down these cases by the reporter's age, those in their 60s accounted for the largest share with 122 cases, representing 30.8%, followed by those in their 50s with 108 cases (27.3%). Cases reported by people in their 40s numbered 80 (20.2%). Next were those in their 70s with 46 cases (11.6%), 30s with 30 cases (7.6%), 20s with 7 cases (1.8%), and 80s with 3 cases (0.8%). The data showed that reports from people aged 50 and below (56.8%) were more numerous than those from elderly drivers aged 60 and above (43.2%) who cited sudden unintended acceleration due to vehicle defects as the cause of the accident.

Contrary to the growing perception that 'sudden unintended acceleration is concentrated among the elderly,' fueled by recent accidents such as the City Hall Station wrong-way driving incident where drivers aged 60 and above claimed SUA as the cause, the actual data shows that suspected SUA accidents also frequently occur among those aged 50 and below. Experts explain that "suspected sudden unintended acceleration accidents occur frequently across various age groups."

Professor Kim Pil-su of Daelim University’s Department of Future Automotive Studies and president of the Automobile Sudden Unintended Acceleration Research Association told Yonhap News, "The recent City Hall Station accident tends to create a misconception that suspected SUA accidents are mainly caused by elderly drivers." He emphasized, "Rather than focusing solely on restricting elderly drivers, society should strive to prevent accidents by introducing and expanding devices that can prevent suspected SUA accidents, such as Autonomous Emergency Braking Systems (AEBS) and pedal misapplication prevention devices."

Meanwhile, data submitted by the Korea Transportation Safety Authority from 2010 to 2022 showed that there were 766 claims of sudden unintended acceleration accidents. However, none of these cases were officially recognized as actual SUA incidents. Additionally, an analysis of 269 suspected SUA accidents from 2013 to 2018 by the National Forensic Service found that 203 cases (75%) were caused by 'driver pedal misapplication,' meaning the driver pressed the accelerator instead of the brake.

Furthermore, the National Forensic Service has never recognized sudden unintended acceleration after analyzing Event Data Recorder (EDR) information. The main challenge in realistically determining SUA is that it is difficult to ascertain whether the cause was pedal misapplication or a mechanical defect in the vehicle based solely on the driver's testimony. Consequently, there is a growing call to mandate pedal black boxes to clearly establish responsibility in SUA accidents or to introduce safety devices to prevent pedal misapplication accidents.