The government plans to tighten driving ability assessments for transport workers including bus, taxi and freight vehicle drivers that are aged 65 years or older, the transport ministry said Wednesday, a move aimed at enhancing the safety of public transportation services.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said it will issue a notice of legislative amendment to the Passenger and Freight Transport Business Act on Thursday, under the goal to strengthen verification of driving abilities among senior transport workers.
Currently, professional drivers aged over 65 years must undergo periodic qualification testing to assess physical and cognitive abilities. Those who fail the test are prohibited from engaging in driving-related work.
Taxi and freight vehicle drivers can substitute this test with a medical examination conducted at hospitals, which evaluates blood pressure, vision and cognitive abilities.
Under current rules, drivers are deemed unfit if their scores fall in the lowest grade 5 in any two or more of the total seven evaluation categories.
Under the proposed new rules, drivers will be deemed unfit if they score lower than grade 4 in more than two of four categories that are closely linked to the risk of accident.
Additionally, while taxi and freight drivers can currently replace the qualification maintenance test with a medical exam, those aged 75 and older and those with a high incidence of traffic violations will no longer be allowed to do so.
The government's move comes in response to growing public concerns over the safety of senior drivers, particularly following a fatal car crash incident involving a 68-year-old driver near Seoul City Hall in July 2024 that left nine people killed while injuring five others.
The driver claims the accident was caused by a defect in his vehicle, but the prosecutors believe it was due to poor driving.
Experts have raised concerns that the current qualification examination system for elderly transport workers remains insufficient in terms of proper vetting of driving ability, as the pass rate among seniors remains excessively high. (Yonhap)
