PUTRAJAYA: There are no plans to impose an “age limit” on Malaysian drivers, says Anthony Loke.
The Transport Minister said there had been calls for such a move, purportedly to prevent accidents.
“We have to be practical and give proper consideration before any decision is made,” he told reporters at a press conference here yesterday.
He was asked to comment on a road safety study carried out by Universiti Putra Malaysia in 2023, which revealed that about 30% of drivers above 60 were still active on the road.
Loke said there were other reasons against imposing a “cut-off date” for drivers.
He noted that such a move might lead to an assumption that drivers above 60 contribute to road accidents.
“Tun Dr Mahathir is 99 and he still drives. Even my father still drives,” he said.
Loke said it would be difficult to impose a driving ban on senior citizens.
He said such a move could impact their mobility, especially those in the rural areas or who need to get around during emergencies.
Meanwhile, Loke announced that checks conducted on driving schools had been changed to once annually instead of every six months.
He said the annual scheduled inspections were for vehicles 10 years or newer, while scheduled inspections would still be done once every six months on driving schools with vehicles that were more than 10 years old.
To encourage driving schools to refurbish their existing fleet, Loke said the scheduled inspections would only be carried out once every three years for new vehicles.
