Taipei launches scooter refresher course for seniors｜Taiwan News

Taipei’s Motor Vehicles Office has launched a refresher course for mature scooter drivers. The course is geared toward drivers 65 and older, who accounted for more than 50% of all traffic deaths and injuries last year. During the first class on Friday, drivers brushed up on skills like vehicle inspection and emergency braking. They also got reacquainted with road safety regulations. The program is currently optional, but may become mandatory one day.
Seniors on scooters get more traffic tickets and have more accidents, data shows. Last year in Taipei, 1,870 older adults were injured or killed on the road while riding scooters. They accounted for more than 50% of all traffic deaths and injuries in the city.
Here at this driving school, instructors give pointers on safe riding. Working with private companies, Taipei’s Motor Vehicles Office has launched a scooter course for seniors. It teaches everything from basic emergency braking to road regulations, to instill the importance of safety among older drivers.
Student
The older generation taught us driving practices like having a hand on the brake at all times. My father taught me. So we never took such a class before. Today the instructor showed us the proper way to brake.
Chen Yu-ying
National Cheng Kung University professor
They’ll admit that they don’t use turn signals or don’t wear a helmet when riding in the country. They come right out and say it.
With Taiwan to become a “super-aged society” by 2025, there will only be more and more older drivers on the road. By law, drivers aged 75 and up must renew their license with a physical exam and cognitive function test every three years. Otherwise, they must stay off the roads.
Lee Pei-yun
Taipei City Motor Vehicles Office
We hope that older drivers will feel that the course is very helpful. If the course helps to improve traffic safety awareness, we hope that the transport ministry will institutionalize it.
The course is currently not compulsory for seniors, but offered on a voluntary basis. But officials encourage older drivers to sign up and help make the roads safer for all.
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也許他們可以學習不要在人行道上開車，讓行人在步行區通過。