Pilot Operation of Driving Ability Assessment System for "Conditional Driver’s Licenses"

Installed at 19 driver’s license test centers nationwide
To replace traffic safety education for "elderly drivers"

The police will begin a pilot operation of a driving ability assessment system based on real vehicles and virtual reality environments. After analyzing its effectiveness as an alternative to traffic safety education for elderly drivers, they plan to use the results to help establish a "conditional driver's license system."

The Korean National Police Agency announced on February 10 that, together with the Korea Road Traffic Authority, it will launch a pilot operation of the driving ability assessment system based on real vehicles and virtual reality environments starting on February 11. The system was developed to assess the actual driving abilities of high-risk drivers whose physical and cognitive functions have deteriorated, and it was installed at 19 driver’s license test centers nationwide by December last year.

Virtual Reality Driving Ability Diagnostic System. Korean National Police Agency

The pilot operation will begin at the Gangseo Driver’s License Test Center in Seoul and will first be carried out at test centers in the Seoul area (Seobu and Dobong). It will then be gradually expanded nationwide during February. The police plan to recruit volunteers from among those aged 75 and older who are required to take traffic safety education for elderly drivers, in order to encourage participation in this pilot program. Based on the objective assessment results, they expect to improve traffic safety by explaining precautions for driving and recommending voluntary surrender of driver’s licenses where appropriate. During the pilot period, undergoing a driving ability assessment will not be linked to administrative measures such as license revocation.

The Korean National Police Agency and the Korea Road Traffic Authority plan to verify and study the system’s reliability and acceptability through the pilot operation, and then use it for aptitude tests for high-risk drivers and the granting of conditional driver’s licenses in the future.

Kim Hoseung, Director General of the Community Safety and Traffic Bureau at the Korean National Police Agency, said, "We will institutionalize a framework that can objectively assess the driving abilities of high-risk drivers, thereby laying the foundation for traffic safety measures for high-risk drivers, including conditional driver’s licenses."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.