More elderly drivers are having car accidents in Korea, raising concerns over safety.... but many of them still want to hold on to their driver’s license.
Lee Min-sun reports.

On Tuesday night, a 96-year-old driver knocked down and killed a 30-year-old woman in Seoul’s Gangnam district.
Another driver in her 70s drove into a tree, killing two and injuring three people.
Korea is an aging society with those aged 65 and above making up 14.8% of the total population. Consequently, car accidents caused by elderly drivers are increasing fast.

In 2017, over 26-thousand car accidents were caused by elderly drivers. That’s an almost 160% increase from 2008 when there were 10-thousand cases.
Concerns over the safety of elderly drivers are rising not just in Korea but also in other countries.
97-year-old Prince Phillip of the UK voluntarily gave up his driver’s license this month after causing a car accident.

Elderly drivers’ cognitive response time is twice as long as normal people so braking distances will be longer. Also, their ability to cope with unexpected situations is significantly reduced.

To better ensure people’s safety, starting this year the Korean government shortened the license renewal period for over-65s from 5 years to 3 years. At the time of the renewal, elderly drivers are required to take 2 hours of safety education.
Besides the mandatory measures, some local authorities are also encouraging elderly drivers to voluntarily turn in their driver's license.
However, without legal obligations or financial incentives, as of 2017, less 5,000 elderly drivers have given up their license.
Some experts say in addition to giving incentives, the overall road environment needs to be improved such as enlarging road signs to better serve elderly drivers.
Lee Min-sun, Arirang News.