He regularly takes long-distance trips up north to Ipoh and Penang, well over 350km from his home in Kuala Lumpur.

Rajaratnam, who drives in the early mornings and even at night, says age hasn’t impaired his vision, hearing or motor skills, but admits that he’s fortunate to be blessed with the good health many others his age aren’t.

The recent assault of an 80-year-old grandmother in a road rage incident in Melaka has reignited the debate over whether the elderly have a place on our roads.

While old age does bring about physical impairments, an expert says it’s a fallacy that older drivers are dangerous and a threat to road safety.

Speaking to FMT, road safety expert Karen Goonting says an old driver’s vulnerability to bright light is a primary problem, especially in places like Malaysia which gets sunlight throughout the year.

“Depth, colour perception and peripheral vision, all instrumental to safe driving, can also be affected.

“This is why some older drivers may find it hard to accurately gauge the speed and distance of other vehicles, read road signs and differentiate between brake lights and running lights.”

There is also the issue of cognitive decline, with elderly drivers taking longer to process what is happening as well as drowsiness. Weaker muscles and less flexibility can result in slower reflexes.

“Due to the greater likelihood of age-related diseases, older drivers also typically take more medication than younger drivers, and some of these medications can cause drowsiness and confusion.”

But Karen noted that elderly drivers usually have the lowest crash rates of all age groups.

Their relatively higher death and injury rates are mainly due to their frailty and age-related ailments rather than impaired driving skills, she added.

Police statistics show that in 2013, some 556 people over the age of 60 died in road crashes, representing 11% of total fatalities that year.

She said elderly drivers usually meet with accidents in complex traffic situations, such as intersections, compared with accidents involving younger drivers, where speeding and overtaking are the main culprits.

One study in Malaysia, she said, showed that older drivers were least confident about making right-hand turns at intersections which have no traffic lights, followed closely by driving at night and in the rain.

“Many overseas studies have found that older drivers tend to avoid night driving as they know their night vision is not good.

“They also avoid driving during rush hours.

“A small number of studies in Malaysia have also found that our older drivers similarly self-regulate.”

Situation in Malaysia and overseas

Karen said in Malaysia, there’s no requirement for older drivers to resit driving tests or undergo medical or psychological tests when applying for extension of their licences.

“This is unlike some other countries, like the United Kingdom, Singapore and the United States of America.”

She said in the UK, once drivers reach the age of 70, they are on the watch list and need to renew their licence every three years.

“In Singapore, from the age of 65, drivers must be medically certified annually as fit to drive and also take a proficiency test.”

She said there were similar provisions of varying strictness in Europe and the US.

In Japan, some local authorities are offering incentives to encourage some of the country’s 4.8 million drivers over 75 to give up their licences. These include providing cheaper funerals and discounts on food.

Malaysia is heading the way of Japan, in terms of having a growing ageing population, with the number of those above 60 in Malaysia expected to double to nearly six million people in 13 years.

As such, the question is whether Malaysia should regulate its old drivers.

“It’s normal for elderly people to develop visual and hearing impairments.

“These can affect their ability to drive, but whether we need a policy to regulate elderly drivers, I’m not sure about that,” said Rajaratnam.

“Before any such policy is introduced, there has to be a justification for it. Do the statistics show that old age translates into higher rates of accidents?”

Karen said driving can’t be looked at in isolation as it is as much about independence as transportation.

She said the current public transport set-up may not be suitable for all older drivers, even those in the city, due to a lack of elderly-friendly infrastructure.

Ride-sharing services like Uber and Grab are the most viable alternatives for the elderly, she added.

“Taking away a person’s mobility and independence can also have profound effects on their physical, mental and social wellbeing.”

She also pointed out that a survey conducted nearly a decade ago, found that an overwhelming majority (93.5%) of elderly drivers felt that no one should be denied the right to drive, while 92.8% felt they were best qualified to judge their own fitness to drive.

And for Rajaratnam, unless there is some form of law barring him from driving, he will continue as long as he is capable.