Age takes toll on safe driving ability: study

By Park Si-soo

Drivers aged over 60 are “significantly” slower in reflexes, cognitive/decision performance and other factors affecting safe driving, a state transport institute has said.

The Korea Transport Institute suggested authorities come up with regulatory countermeasures as the population ages dramatically ― those aged 65 and over accounted for 14.3 percent in 2018, while this expected to soar to 34 percent by 2040.

The institute made the claim based on a driving ability assessment of 580 people aged over 20.

In a nutshell, people aged 60 and more were behind younger drivers in all test areas including memory, attentiveness, motor control, visual acuity and speed estimation ability, just to name a few.

While the average score of test takers aged over 60 was 76 (out of 100), that of younger drivers was 78. In a separate analysis of data from test takers in their 70s and 80s, the score was 71 for those their 70s, falling to 65 for those their 80s.