More Fatal Accidents Caused by Elderly Drivers

Traffic deaths involving elderly drivers have risen dramatically over the past decade.

Advertisement

The Road Traffic Authority (KoROAD) said on Sunday that fatalities in accidents involving drivers in their 70s increased from 246 in 2007 to 496 in 2016, while the number of deaths in crashes caused by those in their 80s more than tripled from 30 to 103 over the same period.

"The number of people behind the wheel in their 70s and 80s has grown as society has aged. It seems that they are overestimating their own driving skills, leading to fatal accidents", a KoROAD official said.

In a survey conducted by the agency last year, 75.7 percent of drivers over 70 described themselves as being in "good physical condition". Some 24.3 percent claimed to be in "average condition", while none said they were in "poor condition".

KoROAD is considering shortening the interval between mandatory driver aptitude tests for those over 75 from five years to three.