The government said on the 10th it will distribute advanced safety devices to taxis and cargo trucks operated by drivers age 65 and older to reduce traffic accidents caused by unintended acceleration. A total of 3,260 vehicles, including taxis and small cargo trucks, are eligible.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority will sign a related business agreement on the 11th at the Hwaseong Transportation Safety Experience Education Center. The Korea Taxi Association, the Korea National Joint Conference of Grobal Individual Taxi Transportation Association, the National Association of Individual Small Cargo Vehicle Transport Business, and the Korea Trucking Association will participate in the agreement.
The core of this project is to technically block situations in which elderly drivers mistakenly press the accelerator excessively. The device automatically limits acceleration when the accelerator is pressed hard while driving at 15 kph or lower, or in sudden-acceleration situations where the engine speed reaches 4,500 RPM.
The government plans to verify the accident-prevention effect and safety by analyzing actual driving data after installation. Eligible vehicles are taxis operated by drivers age 65 and older and small cargo trucks with a maximum payload of 1.4 tons.
The first application period, for corporate taxis, will run from the 24th of this month to the 9th of next month. Application schedules for individual taxi and cargo truck drivers will be announced separately in March.
The distribution volume is 1,360 corporate taxis, 1,300 individual taxis, and 600 cargo trucks. For subsidies, corporate operators will receive 200,000 won, and individual operators will receive 320,000 won.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), pedal-misapplication accidents by elderly drivers have been occurring one after another recently. As of last year, elderly drivers accounted for 14.9% of all drivers, but they made up 25.3% among commercial-vehicle drivers.
Vice Minister Hong Ji-seon of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) said, "Pedal-misapplication accidents are an area that can be prevented through technology," adding, "We will continue policy support to create a transportation environment in which both elderly transportation workers and the public can feel at ease."