At the end of 2022, a CNN report on Taiwan’s “living hell” of a traffic situation made waves domestically and dealt a blow to Taiwan’s international reputation. The government at the time made noises about road safety reform, but more than two years later the nation is still teetering on “hell’s edge.”
In May, public debate over elderly drivers once again came to the fore when an elderly driver caused a fatal crash in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). On Oct. 30, there was another crash in Hualien County’s Jian Township (吉安) in which an unlicensed driver slammed into trees on the roadside.
The need for traffic reform is urgent, but it should avoid targeting a specific group or age bracket. Instead, what is needed is a comprehensive re-evaluation of the driver licensing system and traffic safety regulations, including testing thresholds and assessments of drivers’ physical and mental fitness.
The fact that the Sansia crash was caused by a 78-year-old raised concerns over elderly drivers. The government soon after the incident announced that the age at which drivers must apply to renew their license would be lowered from 75 to 70, alongside other reforms to testing and retraining programs to promote road safety.
However, some have criticized the approach as being based on an unfair assumption that older drivers pose a greater danger and have called it discriminatory.
Policy should be guided by data and strategic planning, not intuition. Using statistics on crash rates, fatalities, injuries and causes, the suitability of current policies can be assessed.
Regarding traffic incident injuries and fatalities, the total number of incidents rose to 402,926 in 2023 from 362,393 in 2020, then dropped slightly to 393,882 last year. The number of injuries and fatalities stratified according to the age of the responsible party from 2020 to last year shows that younger drivers cause more incidents than elderly drivers. While the number of incidents involving drivers aged 18 to 24 dropped to 113,965 from 130,430, the number among those aged 25 to 64 rose to 306,746 from 266,718. For drivers older than 65, it rose to 76,009 from 59,827.
Regarding incident rates, the National Police Agency in 2021 published a report analyzing data from 2020. It showed that the number of incidents per 100,000 people decreased with age, from 2,940 for drivers aged 18 to 29, to 1,411 for the 65-to-69 age group and 1,115 for those aged 70 or older.
Turning to causes of crashes, the 40-to-49 age group had the highest rate of drunk driving-related incidents. The number of crashes caused by pedestrian or passenger error per 100,000 people increased according to age. It was 11 per 100,000 people for drivers aged 18 to 29; 27 for the 65-to-69 age group and 47 the 70-or-older age group.
The data can also be broken down to show that driving is not the only contributor to the rate of incidents attributed to elderly people.
Among incidents caused by pedestrians, not using designated crosswalks, overpasses or underpasses accounted for 1,996 incidents, or 46.08 percent. The next most common cause was failing to look both ways before crossing the street at 839, or 19.37 percent. There were 663 incidents attributed to ignoring traffic signals, signs or traffic-controller directions, or 15.3 percent.
There were 1,066 incidents caused by pedestrians involving people aged 70 or older, or 24.61 percent of the total, which mitigates the raw data on traffic incidents involving elderly drivers. The incidents are not always caused by a person behind the wheel.
Despite the headlines after a few incidents recently, labeling elderly drivers a greater risk on the roads is inconsistent with the evidence.
More importantly, the risk factors for drivers go beyond age and alcohol use. Medications, including for cold, hypertension and muscle relaxants, can lead to dizziness, drowsiness and impaired alertness, which is why, after a proposal by the Healthy Taiwan Promotion Committee, the Highway Bureau on Aug. 19 issued guidelines for people taking prescription drug to help drivers assess their own risk levels and reduce crash rates.
Reforms slated to take effect next year would not only adjust the license management system for elderly drivers, but also overhaul the wider licensing system, including updates to testing. The reforms are designed to address systemic issues, not target specific demographics.
Other steps include the new medication guidelines and revisions to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例) passed at the end of last month, which raised the maximum penalty for driving without a license to NT$36,000 for scooter riders and NT$60,000 for drivers.
With these steps, hopefully Taiwan can lose the label of being a “traffic hell.”
Huang Jin-shun is president of the Federation of Taiwan Pharmacists’ Association.
Translated by Gilda Knox Streader
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