He insisted on riding his motorcycle, though his family had repeatedly pleaded with him not to do so because of his age. But Mr Yong, 86, laughed at them whenever they voiced their concerns.
On Monday, his family's worst fears came true. Mr Yong was riding his motorcycle when it collided with a taxi at the junction of Kallang Bahru and Boon Keng roads at 6.15pm. He suffered serious injuries and died later.
'We tried stopping him many times, but he never listened. Old people are very stubborn,' Mr Yong's niece, who declined to give her full name, told The New Paper yesterday.'He never took public transport. Although he was careful, we felt that it wasn't safe for him.'
Mr Yong's accident is just one of the many involving elderly drivers. The statistics are troubling. In 2005, there were 169 car drivers, aged 55 and above, who were killed or injured in accidents.
RISE IN FIGURE
That figure jumped to 236 drivers last year, according to police.
So, should we have a maximum age limit for drivers?
Or, as one concerned son, who did not want to be named, suggested: 'Can a family member ask the traffic police not to renew the licence of someone like my elderly father?'
That may be a little extreme, as long as his father remains in possession of his faculties. But perhaps there could be more stringent medical tests for elderly drivers. And should they be required to go for medical checkups every year?
Those 65 and above have to take a medical checkup only once every three years to keep their licence now. If they intend to drive a heavy vehicle (Class 4), they have to go for a checkup every year, including a test of driving skills.
Two months before the driver's birthday, in the year he or she is due for a checkup, the Traffic Police sends out a letter with a medical form. Tests include those for blood pressure, eyesight and diabetes.
The medical form has to be filled in by the doctor, certifying that the driver is fit to drive, and sent back to the Traffic Police before the birthday.
From July 1 last year, the Land Transport Authority raised the maximum age limit for taxi drivers from 70 to 73 years to allow healthy older drivers to continue working.
Optometrist Pearl Lim, 28, said: 'I have advised some elderly customers to stop driving because they could not see clearly. The oldest was almost 90. But he told me he drove slowly. What can I say?'
She felt drivers aged 60 and above should go for annual eye checkups.
SLOWER REACTION
Their reaction time could be slower and they could be endangering not just their own lives but the lives of others.
On 25 Sep, a man in his early 80s was driving along New Upper Changi Road towards Upper Changi Road East when he hit a 66-year-old woman pedestrian, killing her on the spot.
In the US, an 86-year-old man killed 10 people and injured more than 50 when his car ploughed through a market in Santa Monica in 2003.
Retiree Thomas Khoo, 58, who drives daily, said: 'I've had three heart attacks. It's better to go every year.'
Mrs Betty Chen, 81, chairman of the Henderson Senior Citizens' Home, also drives daily, and agreed the elderly should go for annual checkups. 'I want to drive in a safe environment and I want to contribute to that,' she said.
By Andre Yeo
Additional reporting by Megha Gupta, newsroom intern
Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd.
