Loke: No To Setting Age Limit For Elderly Malaysian Drivers

Transport Minister Anthony Loke declared that there are no plans to put an age limit on Malaysian drivers, despite worries about age-related accidents.

At a press conference yesterday, Loke accepted ideas to establish an age limit but underlined the importance of practical and comprehensive thought before making any decision.

He was responding to a 2023 road safety study conducted by Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), which discovered that over 30% of drivers over the age of 60 stay on the road. Loke emphasised that, while age is important, there are compelling arguments against adopting a precise cut-off point.

This issue could have been raised because of an accident over the weekend in which a 62 year old senior citizen died after losing control of his Lamborghini on Karak Highway and crashing, resulting in the car crashing and catching fire.

Loke went on to say, "Tun Dr Mahathir is 99 and still drives. Even my father still drives," highlighting the difficulty of prohibiting senior individuals from driving, particularly in remote areas or during emergencies.

In other events, Loke announced a change to the inspection timetable for driving school vehicles. Vehicles that are 10 years old or newer will now receive annual inspections rather than biennial ones. Inspections for vehicles older than ten years will continue to be conducted biannually.

Furthermore, to encourage driving schools in replacing their fleets with newer vehicles, Loke indicated that inspections for brand-new cars will be required just once every three years.

Source: The Star