The government would not ban elderly people from driving, but with 2.72 million people aged 70 or older expected to be driving in 10 years’ time, “something needs to be done now” to ensure safety, Ministry of Transportation and Communications Secretary-General Shen Hui-hung (沈慧虹) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview published yesterday.
The ministry is changing the age requirement for elderly people to trade in regular driver’s licenses for licenses for the elderly from 75 to 70, Shen said.
The policy is being introduced after a 78-year-old driver, surnamed Yu (余), killed three people and injured more than a dozen on May 19.
Photo: Chen Pin-yu, Taipei Times
Taiwan now has 1.82 million people older than 70, and expects the number to grow to 2.72 million in the next decade, Shen said.
While the ability to remain mobile is a testament to people’s dignity, safety must be taken into consideration, Shen said.
Drivers are eligible to test for their license at the age of 18 and the validity of the license lasts through 75, Shen said.
Amendments introduced in 2017 state that drivers older than 75 would need to return to the Department of Motor Vehicles to renew their licenses every three years, she said.
In addition to elderly driving, driving without a license could also cause more severe problems, she said, adding that the ministry is to raise fines for unlicensed driving to be on par with those for driving under the influence.
Changes to unlicensed driving would require amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例), Highway Bureau Director-General Chen Wen-jui (陳文瑞) said, adding that the bureau is already drafting changes.
Some local governments have said that a portion of the responsibility lies with the central government, but ultimately, the responsibility for maintaining pedestrian safety and road improvement lies with local governments, Shen said.
Local governments are the most familiar with road conditions within their jurisdictions, and they would need to juggle priorities, Shen said.
Some local governments have been proposing amelioration projects and have asked the ministry for subsidies, and the ministry is reviewing the requests as they arrive, she added.
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