Gwangju City Councilor An Pyunghwan Proposes Lowering Elderly Driver License Return Age from 70 to 65

‘Traffic Safety Ordinance Amendment’ Passes Plenary Session
“Expectations for Increased Use of Public Transportation and Prevention of Traffic Accidents”

An Pyunghwan, Gwangju City Council member.

Drivers aged 65 to 69 residing in Gwangju will now be able to return their driver's licenses and receive benefits.

The 'Gwangju City Traffic Safety Ordinance Amendment', proposed by Councilor Ahn Pyunghwan (Democratic Party, Buk-gu 1), passed the city council's plenary session on the 12th and is set to take effect soon.

The amendment lowers the eligible age for support measures aimed at preventing traffic accidents among elderly drivers from 70 to 65. Once the revised ordinance is implemented, the number of beneficiaries in Gwangju will significantly increase for initiatives such as: production and distribution of vehicle identification stickers for elderly drivers; maintenance of traffic safety facilities; traffic safety education and promotion; and provision of a transportation card worth 100,000 KRW for those who return their driver's licenses.

On the 18th, Councilor Ahn emphasized, "According to the Korea Transport Institute's study on the effect of voluntary driver's license returns by elderly drivers on reducing traffic accidents, each elderly driver who returns their license results in a decrease of 0.01118 accidents per year. When converted to social costs, this equates to an annual reduction of 420,000 KRW." He added, "It is necessary to expand policies that encourage driver's license returns among those aged 65 and older to prevent traffic accidents and promote the use of public transportation."