New Taipei: Concerns have been raised over the fitness of elderly drivers and the system used to renew their driver’s licenses following a car crash in New Taipei on Monday that killed three people and injured 12. The incident occurred at around 4 p.m. when a speeding car driven by a 78-year-old man surnamed Yu slammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School.
According to Focus Taiwan, the crash resulted in the deaths of a woman in her 40s and two female students in their teens, with 12 others injured, including the driver and a 12-year-old female student who remain in critical condition. New Power Party Chairwoman Claire Wang stated that although the cause is still unclear, factors such as the lack of traffic-calming measures near schools and the ineffective elderly driver license renewal system might have contributed to the incident.
Wang highlighted the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ policy requiring those aged 75 and above to renew their licenses every three years, a rule implemented eight years ago. However, this policy only applied to individuals not already 75 at the time, meaning seniors over 83 years old are still not required to renew their licenses. Additionally, a three-year grace period effectively delayed this renewal requirement to age 78.
Wang urged the government to lower the renewal age to 65 or 70 and to include road tests or simulated driving assessments in the process. She noted that last year, over 100,000 traffic incidents in Taiwan involved seniors aged 65 and above, resulting in 1,225 deaths and more than 73,000 injuries. These figures were higher than before the implementation of the new license renewal system, emphasizing the current measures’ ineffectiveness.
Meanwhile, Chang Tzyh-chyang, an advisor to the Taiwan Occupational Therapy Association, stated that drivers aged 75 and above must undergo a medical examination and renew their licenses every three years, including a basic cognitive test. However, Chang suggested that these methods fall short of identifying all potential risks and recommended adding simulated driving tests, on-road driving assessments, and reviews of basic traffic safety knowledge to the evaluation process.