Older adults participating in the Driving Ability Diagnosis System pilot program listen to instructions on the driving course at the Gangseo Driver's License Examination Office in western Seoul, Feb. 11. Korea Times photo by Chun Yae-hyun
Inside a yellow test vehicle climbing a steep incline in western Seoul, 83-year-old Kim Young-hwan suddenly faced an unexpected hurdle: a math problem.
"What is 100 minus 7?" flashed across an internal screen.
Kim urgently slammed the brakes to keep the car from rolling backward down the slope. "The answer is 93," he said. Only then did he slowly move his foot back to the accelerator to conquer the hill.
"I was flustered for a moment, but I think I handled it easily," Kim said.
Kim’s multitasking exam was not a standard driving test. It is the front line of Korea's new Driving Ability Diagnosis System, a pilot program launched on Feb. 11 by the National Police Agency and the Korea Road Traffic Authority.
Operating once a week at three driver's license examination offices in Seoul — Gangseo, Seobu and Dobong — the initiative targets high-risk drivers aged 75 and older who exhibit physical and cognitive decline. For a rapidly aging nation battling a surge in senior-involved traffic crashes, the pilot represents a critical policy pivot. Authorities are moving away from ineffective campaigns urging seniors to voluntarily surrender their licenses and toward rigorous, practical evaluations.
The graph, generated by artificial intelligence, shows accidents caused by senior drivers — defined as those aged 65 and older — in Korea from 2020 to 2024. Courtesy of the Korea Road Traffic Authority
The urgency stems from alarming demographic and safety data. According to the road traffic authority, traffic crashes caused by drivers aged 65 and older jumped 36.4 percent over four years, from 31,072 cases in 2020 to 42,369 in 2024. During that same period, the proportion of elderly drivers involved in all traffic crashes grew from 14.8 percent to 21.6 percent. Fatalities increased from 720 to 761, and the number of injuries rose from 44,269 to nearly 60,000.
Recent high-profile tragedies have amplified public anxiety. Early last month, a taxi driver plowed into pedestrians near Jonggak Station in central Seoul, resulting in 15 casualties. In November last year, a truck crashed into a traditional market in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, killing two people and injuring 19. Both incidents involved drivers in their 70s.
Source: Korea Times News
