Pieces of broken glass are left strewn at the site of a truck crush in the southern county of Sunchang on March 8, 2023. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, March 10 (Korea Bizwire) — A series of car accidents involving senior drivers going the wrong way on expressways or running into pedestrians is calling for a government response.
Last Wednesday, some 20 people waiting in lines to cast ballots for a local agricultural cooperative head in the southwestern county of Sunchang were run over by a truck driven by a driver in his 70s.
The accident left four people dead, with 16 others injured, four of them seriously.
Based on testimony from the driver and witnesses, the police are leaning towards the possibility of poor driving.
Data from the Korea Transportation Safety Authority shows that 31,841 traffic accidents last year involved senior drivers, killing a total of 709 people, and wounding 44,000.
Local authorities are promoting incentives for seniors who voluntarily surrender their driver’s licenses to prevent car accidents by senior drivers.
Their aim is to encourage them to use public transportation, rather than risking driving despite deteriorating physical condition.
A police agency report from 2021 showed that senior drivers over 65 years of age accounted for 10.2 percent (3.34 million) of all drivers in the country. Last year, the proportion jumped to 11.9 percent (4.02 million).
With the aging population on the increase, this trend is expected to continue.
Some critics point out that a lack of realistic measures from local authorities is discouraging senior drivers from voluntarily surrendering their driver’s licenses.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
