Gwangju Area's 'Child Protection Zone Traffic Safety' Strengthened Further

Gwangju Police and Gwangju City to Install Unmanned Enforcement Devices in All Elementary Schools by Year-End

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Traffic safety for children is expected to be significantly strengthened in the 132 school zones of elementary schools in Gwangju Metropolitan City.

On the 31st, according to the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency (Chief Choi Gwanho), 99 unmanned enforcement devices will be installed at 98 elementary schools in cooperation with Gwangju City by the end of the year.

Once this project is completed, unmanned enforcement devices will be installed at all elementary schools in the Gwangju area.

For 25 locations where installation is difficult due to road conditions such as narrow alleys and side streets, facilities suitable for the road environment around schools, such as speed bumps and traffic signals, will be installed to ensure children's safety.

Since the enforcement of the revised Road Traffic Act Article 12 (commonly known as the ‘Min-sik Law’) began nationwide on the 25th, the demand for unmanned enforcement devices is expected to surge. To achieve the goal without delay, the Gwangju Police and Gwangju City have decided to accelerate the installation work. The target is to install devices at 50 locations in the first half of the year.

Since the unmanned enforcement devices must go through procedures such as selecting installation contractors, inspection by the Road Traffic Authority, and pilot operation before normal operation, mobile unmanned enforcement devices will be used to encourage speed reduction until the devices are fully operational.

Additionally, traffic police will be deployed in vulnerable school zones to conduct safety activities.

The speed limit within school zones is 30 km/h, which drivers may find slow depending on their driving habits. However, according to overseas research analyzing pedestrian fatality rates based on vehicle speed, the fatality rate for pedestrians is 10% at 30 km/h but rises sharply to 90% at 60 km/h.

In vehicle-pedestrian accidents, pedestrians experience an impact equivalent to falling from the 2nd floor at 30 km/h and from the 6th floor at 60 km/h.

Therefore, the Gwangju Police regard the reduction of the speed limit to 30 km/h within school zones as absolutely necessary for children's traffic safety.

As the number of unmanned enforcement locations in school zones increases significantly, the Gwangju Police plan to promote related information on the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency and police station websites and provide location information to navigation companies to encourage drivers to obey signals and speed limits and avoid enforcement.

A representative of the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency said, “Once unmanned enforcement devices are installed in school zones as planned, we expect a significant improvement in children's traffic safety. We ask drivers to prioritize children's safety over traffic flow and to comply with speed limits and signals when passing through school zones.”

He added, “We also ask that illegal parking and stopping in school zones be avoided.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.