Expansion of Enforcement Equipment Installation in Dangerous Tunnel Sections on Highways

Ministry of the Interior and Safety Announces 8 Improvement Tasks Following Disaster Cause Investigation of Samae2 Tunnel

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] To prevent accidents in highway tunnel sections, which have been increasing every year, a plan is being promoted to install section enforcement equipment linked with variable speed limit signs. Measures to strengthen the installation standards for disaster prevention facilities inside tunnels and to install permanent traffic safety facilities in preparation for winter are also being prepared.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 20th that it conducted a cause investigation together with related agencies such as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the National Police Agency, the Fire Agency, and private experts regarding the multiple collision accident and fire that occurred in February this year at the Samae2 Tunnel on the Suncheon-Wanju Expressway, and discovered such improvement tasks to be implemented by the related agencies.

The multiple (32-vehicle) collision accident that occurred around 12:20 PM on February 17 in the Sumae2 Tunnel (Samae-myeon, Namwon-si) on the Suncheon-Wanju Expressway northbound lane led to a fire, resulting in a total of 5 deaths and 43 serious and minor injuries. Property damage also amounted to approximately 983 million KRW.

As a result of the investigation, it was confirmed that although a heavy snow warning was issued near Namwon-si, Jeonbuk Province, and the road surface was slippery due to accumulated snow, many vehicles did not comply with safe distances and speed regulations. The investigation team pointed out that since the effect of snow removal work by snowplows during heavy snowfall is inevitably limited, additional traffic safety facilities need to be installed.

Also, about a 5.3 km section near the Samae2 Tunnel has five tunnels in succession, making access difficult in case of traffic accidents and increasing the possibility of large-scale accidents, but disaster prevention facilities were installed and operated based on individual tunnel standards.

Accordingly, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to establish grounds for installing and managing section enforcement equipment (cameras) in tunnel sections and to review installing them linked with variable speed limit signs to induce vehicle deceleration according to weather conditions. For tunnels lacking disaster prevention facilities, grounds for installing smoke control equipment and other facilities will be prepared, and facilities to prepare for winter freezing or traffic accidents will be strengthened.

In addition, general matters and installation standards for continuous tunnels will be reorganized according to recent road conditions, and the action manual applied in case of tunnel accidents will be reexamined. Furthermore, driver safety education and publicity will be strengthened to prevent accidents, including compliance regulations when driving in tunnels, how to respond in case of traffic accidents, and fire response training.

Choi Bok-su, Director of Disaster Cooperation at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said, "The investigation into the disaster cause at Samae2 Tunnel has significance in that it prepared practical improvement measures to prevent similar accidents inside tunnels," and added, "We ask drivers to pay attention to safety by complying with speed regulations and safe distances to prevent traffic accidents during regular road driving."

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