IN yet another incident involving a senior citizen driver, a 60-year-old man crashed his car into a coffee shop in Bukit Tinggi, Klang after stepping on the accelerator by mistake.
Sin Chew Daily reported that the incident occurred at 11pm on Thursday.
The man had earlier had tea in another coffee shop and when he went to his car, he reportedly stepped on the accelerator and reversed.
He crashed into several stalls inside the coffee shop. Fortunately, the stall owners had left by then and there were no injuries reported.
The driver also escaped unhurt.
According to the report, three stalls were damaged in the incident.
The car was later towed away, while the coffee shop owner said she would lodge a police report.
The Vibes had reported earlier that over the last two months, there have been at least five car crashes involving senior citizens, with fatalities reported.
Following these incidents, The Vibes spoke to several Malaysians to get their views on whether senior citizens should undergo special screening before getting their licence renewed.
While most felt there should not be any restrictions on the elderly getting behind the wheel, there were those who thought that the situation depended on their medical conditions.
Two years ago, Bukit Aman’s Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department called for Malaysian regulations to be changed so that senior citizens have to undergo some form of screening before getting their driving licence renewed.
The department said poor health is one of the causes of road accidents, with diseases such as Alzheimer’s and deteriorating eyesight being common problems. And there have indeed been recent cases of elderly drivers driving against the flow of traffic.
However, several groups objected to this proposal, saying that no statistics showed that the elderly are among the highest contributors to road crashes in the country.
Following public uproar, mostly from senior citizens, former transport minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong said any related policy change must be handled with a systematic, evidence-based approach, and needed to be treated with foresight.
He said that simply refusing a person the means to drive based on their age or on isolated and anecdotal evidence would be discriminatory because many drivers above the age of 70 display greater competence in driving compared to their younger peers for any number of reasons.
Even former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, notably one of the oldest drivers in the country, said one’s ability is not tied to age. – The Vibes, December 10, 2023
