Increase in 'Highway' Accidents During Chuseok Holiday... Higher Injury Rates Among Children and Adolescents

Road Traffic Authority Analyzes Traffic Accidents Over the Past 5 Years
'Cross-Region Traffic Accidents' Where Residence and Accident Location Differ
Gyeongnam Uiryeong-gun Ranks 1st... Goheung, Uljin, Danyang, and Haenam Also High

On the 29th, one day before the Chuseok holiday, officials from the National Police Agency are conducting aerial surveillance of highway violations above Singal JC on the Gyeongbu Expressway. [Aerial filming cooperation: Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Aviation Unit, Officer Shim Dong-guk] / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Traffic accidents on highways during the Chuseok holiday period have been recorded to increase by more than 20% compared to normal times. Although this is a natural result of long-distance travel for visiting hometowns, it highlights the need for extra caution when driving on highways.

According to the Road Traffic Authority on the 1st, a total of 13,505 traffic accidents occurred during the Chuseok holiday period over the past five years from 2015 to last year, resulting in 23,973 casualties.

In particular, when looking at the types of roads, only highway traffic accidents showed an increase. Highway traffic accidents averaged 14.3 cases per day, which is 22.6% higher than the usual 11.7 cases. In contrast, traffic accidents on general roads such as national roads and provincial roads all decreased.

With the increase in family unit travel, the number of casualties per accident also rose. Normally, there were 1.5 casualties per accident, but during the holiday period, this increased by 17.2% to 1.8. Especially, the proportion of children aged 12 and under and teenagers aged 13 to under 19 among total casualties was 5.9% and 6.5%, respectively, higher than usual (4.1% and 5.7%).

A noteworthy point is 'traffic accidents in other regions.' These refer to accidents where the driver's residence and the accident location differ, serving as an indicator of accidents caused by an increase in travelers visiting their hometowns.

Among local governments nationwide, the area with the largest increase in traffic accidents in other regions during the Chuseok holiday was Uiryeong-gun, Gyeongnam, with a 32.7% increase. This was followed by Goheung-gun, Jeonnam; Uljin-gun, Gyeongbuk; Danyang-gun, Chungbuk; and Haenam-gun, Jeonnam, each with increases exceeding 30%. As traffic accidents in other regions notably rise during the Chuseok holiday, various activities to ensure the traffic safety of travelers visiting their hometowns seem necessary.

Shin Seung-chul, head of the Safety Headquarters at the Road Traffic Authority, emphasized, "Due to the risk of COVID-19 infection, the use of private cars may increase instead of public transportation such as express buses or trains, so drivers need to exercise special caution during long-distance travel." He added, "Since family unit travel increases during the holiday period, drivers should focus on defensive driving for the safety of their families, and rear-seat passengers must also wear seat belts."

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