Deadly City Hall car crash fuels hatred toward senior drivers

Following the deadly car crash near central Seoul on July 1, debate has rekindled over whether seniors aged 65 and up should be eligible to drive, with some openly expressing hatred toward older drivers online.

On July 1, a vehicle crashed into pedestrians waiting at traffic light at an intersection near Exit No. 7 of Seoul’s City Hall Station in Jung-gu, central Seoul, as it drove in the wrong direction and collided with two vehicles before hitting the pedestrians. In the end, this car crash resulted in nine fatalities with seven injured.

While the exact cause behind the accident is still being investigated, it was revealed soon after that the driver was a 68-year-old man, fueling distrust among some South Koreans about older people's driving abilities.

Two days after this car crash, a taxi driven by a driver in his 70s crashed into the emergency ward of a hospital in Jung-gu on July 3, injuring three pedestrians. On Saturday, a vehicle driven by a man in his 80s injured two pedestrians while making a U-turn near Seoul Station.

With the recent chain of accidents involving senior drivers, some South Koreans have expressed their doubts over older drivers’ abilities to drive.

Yonhap News Agency on Saturday reported on comments written under different articles about the recent car crashes that read: “Take these old people’s driver’s licenses away,” and, “Let's not let old people get behind the wheel.” Another commented that they fear riding in taxis, as they are “mostly driven by old people.”

Public concerns over older drivers also grew after the latest data compiled by the Korea Insurance Development Institute on Sunday revealed that, based on car insurance data, drivers over the age of 65 caused more car accidents than those younger than 65 by 13 percent in 2023. Car crashes involving drivers aged 65 and up also produced a higher number of victims and a higher proportion of injuries on average, as the average number of victims in car accidents involving drivers under the age of 65 was 1.96, while the average number of victims in crashes involving the number of drivers 65 and up was 2.63.

Some have also proposed strengthening the drivers’ aptitude test for older drivers by mandating the return of driver’s licenses for those over the age of 70. Mandating the installation of an Automated Emergency Braking System, which warns the driver after detecting critical proximity to a vehicle in front and provides assistance with braking was suggested as well.

In South Korea, drivers aged 75 and above are required to renew their license every three years, while other drivers are required to do so every 10 years. Drivers above 75 must also go through a cognitive test and road safety education when renewing their license.

Senior drivers are also encouraged to forfeit their driver’s licenses in exchange for incentives, such as a public transportation card worth 100,000 won ($72) if they reside in Seoul. However, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, only around 2 percent of senior drivers actually return their driver’s license.

While these debates about older drivers provide Korean society with an opportunity to reconsider safety measures in the face of an aging population, experts say that it is “not ideal” to conclude that a driver’s age is solely to blame as the cause behind car crashes involving senior drivers.

“The recent chain of car accidents caused by senior drivers is very unfortunate, but focusing too much on their age and the problems surrounding senior drivers is not helpful to finding the exact cause behind the accidents,” social welfare professor Seok Jae-eun from Hallym University told The Korea Herald.

Regarding the recent car crash near Seoul's City Hall Station, traffic accident experts concluded that it is difficult to attribute the cause of the accident to problems associated with older drivers, as it was found that a decrease in the driver's reaction speed -- a typical issue associated with older drivers -- was not noticeable at the time, according to local reports.

“Even before the exact causes behind the recent accidents have been identified, the public’s anger is being directed at the drivers and not other problems such as traffic problems or car malfunctions,” added Seok. “At a time like this, it’s more important to clearly identifying the causes so that the problems don't recur instead of simply blaming.”