Fatality Rate of Elderly Driver Accidents 1.8 Times Higher... "Conditional Driver's License Needed"

Samsung Transportation Safety Culture Institute
Study on the Necessity of Introducing Conditional Driver's Licenses for Elderly Drivers

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] The fatality rate of traffic accidents involving drivers aged 65 and older is 1.8 times higher, indicating the need to introduce a 'conditional driver's license' that imposes driving conditions based on driving ability while maximizing mobility rights.

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance's affiliated Samsung Traffic Safety Culture Research Institute announced on the 28th that it conducted a study on the 'necessity of introducing conditional driver's licenses for elderly drivers' by analyzing traffic accident statistics from the National Police Agency over the past five years (2015?2019).

According to the study, traffic accidents involving non-elderly drivers decreased by 6%, from 208,972 cases in 2015 to 196,361 cases in 2019, whereas traffic accidents involving elderly drivers increased by 44%, from 23,063 cases in 2015 to 33,239 cases in 2019. In particular, the fatality rate for non-elderly drivers was 1.7, while for elderly drivers it was 2.9, which is 1.8 times higher than that of non-elderly drivers.

The number of deaths and serious injuries per one million licensed drivers was 1.6 times higher for elderly drivers (4,046) compared to non-elderly drivers (2,483). Additionally, elderly drivers were more vulnerable to accidents in relatively high-risk driving zones such as curved roads (1.9 times), intersections (1.6 times), and during foggy conditions (1.6 times).

Examining deaths and serious injuries per 100,000 drivers by age group, the figures were 348 for those in their 60s, 386 for those in their 70s, and 404 for those in their 80s, showing that the severity of personal injury increases with age.

Joonhan Cho, senior researcher at the Samsung Traffic Safety Culture Research Institute, explained, "For elderly drivers, if there are no major disqualifications regarding safe driving compliance, it is necessary to introduce a conditional driver's license system that guarantees the driver's mobility rights to the maximum extent possible within the scope of ensuring traffic safety, rather than canceling their driver's license."

A conditional driver's license is a system that allows driving under specific conditions even if the driver's ability does not fully meet the normal driver's license standards. For example, it may restrict driving to urban areas or within a certain radius from home (such as 20 km), allow driving only during daytime hours, prohibit highway driving, and limit maximum driving speed (e.g., 50 km/h or 60 km/h). Currently, advanced countries such as the United States, Germany, and Australia operate conditional driver's license systems.

Currently, Article 80 of the Road Traffic Act only implements conditional driver's licenses primarily for people with physical disabilities, such as vehicles equipped with automatic transmission, vehicles manufactured and approved for physical disabilities, and the use of physical disability aids like prosthetic limbs or hearing aids.

Senior researcher Cho emphasized, "The criteria for issuing conditional driver's licenses should not be based on a specific age but rather on individual driving abilities. It is desirable to assign personalized driving conditions by gathering opinions from the police, doctors, and others."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.