[Silver Driving Hazard Lights] 23% of Fatal Car Accident Perpetrators Are Aged 65 and Over

①Increasing Accidents Involving Elderly Drivers

3.68 Million Drivers Aged 65+
11% of All License Holders
Fatality Rate 80% Higher Than Non-Elderly
Response Time to Sudden Situations 1.4 Seconds
Twice as Long as Non-Elderly at 0.7 Seconds

At the '2019 Traffic Accident Reduction Unity Event' hosted by the Road Traffic Authority held at COEX Auditorium in Gangnam-gu, Seoul in 2019, actor Yang Taek-jo, the promotional ambassador, is undergoing a cognitive function test for elderly drivers.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

3.68 million.

According to Statistics Korea's 2020 data, this is the number of licensed drivers aged 65 and older in South Korea. This includes Class 1 and Class 2 licenses, special vehicles, and motorcycles. They account for 11% of the total 33.19 million licensed drivers, meaning 1 in 10 drivers is elderly. Those aged 80 and above number 300,000. Among them, 13,057 hold Class 1 large vehicle licenses such as buses and trucks, and 200,000 hold Class 2 regular licenses for passenger cars. Although holding a driver's license does not necessarily mean active vehicle operation, the proportion of elderly drivers involved in traffic accidents is increasing.

According to the Road Traffic Authority's Traffic Accident Analysis System, the proportion of traffic accidents where the perpetrator is a driver aged 65 or older increased from 11% (24,429 cases) in 2016 to 13.8% (30,012 cases) in 2018, and 14.8% (31,072 cases) in 2020. Among fatalities, cases where the perpetrator was an elderly driver rose from 17.6% in 2016 to 22.2% in 2018, and 23.3% in 2020. Approximately 1 in 4 fatal traffic accident perpetrators is a driver aged 65 or older. Considering that elderly drivers make up about 11% of all drivers, it indicates that fatal traffic accidents occur disproportionately among the elderly. An analysis by Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance's affiliated Samsung Traffic Safety Culture Research Institute of police traffic accident data showed that the fatality rate per 100 traffic accidents was 1.7 for non-elderly drivers, whereas it was 2.9 for elderly drivers, about 80% higher.

With the aging of the baby boomer generation, traffic accidents involving elderly drivers are expected to increase further. On the 30th of last month in Busan, a taxi driven by a driver in his 70s crashed through the fifth-floor exterior wall of a large mart parking lot and onto the roadway, killing the taxi driver and injuring seven others including other drivers and pedestrians. On the 19th of last month at around 6:50 a.m. in Bongcheon-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, a taxi driver in his 70s, Mr. A, hit an octogenarian with his car and fled the scene without providing assistance but was later caught at his home in Guro-gu. During police investigation, Mr. A reportedly said he "could not see because it was dark." On the 22nd of last month at the entrance of Suyeong Paldo Market in Suyeong-gu, Busan, a passenger car driven by an octogenarian collided with parked vehicles, a Yakult electric cart, and a 60-year-old woman, Ms. A, who was carrying her granddaughter. Ms. A died at the scene, and her 18-month-old granddaughter was seriously injured and transported to the hospital but later passed away.

Elderly drivers tend to have relatively slower reaction times and somewhat diminished ability to handle sudden situations. According to research by the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, in urban driving, drivers aged 65 and under responded to sudden situations in an average of 0.7 seconds, whereas elderly drivers took twice as long, 1.4 seconds. Reaction and start times to sudden situations on highways also took more than 17% longer than those of non-elderly drivers. The government, police, and local authorities have offered various incentives to encourage elderly drivers to voluntarily surrender their licenses, but only 2% have done so.

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