Pedal Misoperation Accidents Double in 5 Years, 70.5% Involve Elderly Drivers

Accidents resulting from drivers mistakenly pressing the accelerator instead of the brake have more than doubled in the last five years, with a significant portion involving elderly drivers. Data from Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance's Traffic Safety Culture Research Institute reveals a 2.3-fold increase in such incidents, from 66 in 2021 to 153 last year. The number of fatalities also surged by 3.4 times during the same period, contributing to a total of 160 deaths over the five years.

Analysis of the data shows that drivers aged 60 and above were responsible for 70.5% of these accidents, with 400 incidents compared to 136 among drivers under 60. The severity of these accidents also disproportionately affected the elderly. For every accident involving drivers under 60, there were 2.1 casualties, while for those aged 60 and over, the average was 2.8 casualties. Elderly drivers accounted for 77% of all casualties in these incidents.

The trend is starkly visible in fatal accidents as well. Drivers aged 60 and over caused 93 fatal pedal misoperation accidents, 3.6 times more than drivers under 60, who caused 26. The death toll from these incidents was also significantly higher, with 132 fatalities among the elderly compared to 28 among those under 60.

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Pedal misoperation accidents are fatal and continue to increase annually, making countermeasures for elderly drivers extremely urgent.

Pedestrian accidents most frequently occurred near commercial establishments like restaurants and cafes, accounting for 40.3% of the 238 pedestrian incidents over the past five years. However, fatalities were more common in dedicated pedestrian areas like sidewalks and crosswalks, with sidewalks seeing 33.7% of pedestrian fatalities and crosswalks 14.5%.

Researchers emphasize the urgent need for technological solutions. Park Yo-han, a senior researcher at the institute, stated, "Pedal misoperation accidents are fatal and continue to increase annually, making countermeasures for elderly drivers extremely urgent." He called for the implementation of technology that can detect and control pedal misoperations in real-time during medium and high-speed driving, not just at low speeds.

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There is an urgent need to install technology that can detect and control pedal misoperations in real-time even during medium and high-speed driving, not just the acceleration suppression function currently being pursued for institutionalization.