“If Proper Measures Had Been Taken After the First Accident”… Always Closing the Barn Door After the Horse Has Bolted in Gwangju

Complacent Safety Measures Under Scrutiny... City and Police Clash Over Responsibility

The day after the 'Gwangju School Zone Tragedy,' on the 18th, a safety assistant is controlling traffic at a crosswalk within the school zone of an apartment complex in Unam-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City. Photo by Lee Gwan-woo

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Gwan-woo] “Because a fatal accident occurred...”

This is the response from a police officer who proposed the installation of traffic lights and speed cameras as follow-up measures after the so-called ‘Gwangju School Zone Tragedy’ that occurred recently at a crosswalk within a school zone in an apartment complex in Unam-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City.

However, earlier in May, an elementary school student was seriously injured after being hit by a car while crossing the same crosswalk.

It was an accident of the same type as the recent ‘school zone tragedy.’

At that time, Gwangju City and the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency agreed to reinforce facilities such as the crosswalk and safety speed bumps. Traffic lights were excluded.

The reason was that there was a traffic light 40 meters ahead of the accident crosswalk.

What if they had thought once more and taken proper safety measures? Most voices say that neither the driver nor the mother and child would have suffered misfortune.

There is growing demand for fundamental safety measures, a ‘model answer sheet,’ to eradicate repeated traffic accidents in school zones.

Also, it is pointed out that despite the inefficient structure where the entities responsible for installing and managing traffic safety facilities such as traffic lights and safety fences are separated between the police and local governments, the responsible agencies must pool their wisdom to ‘prevent’ accidents.

However, related agencies seem to be busy shifting responsibility to each other over this tragedy.

A Gwangju City official explained, “The safety facilities installed at the accident site are under the jurisdiction of the Gwangju Police Agency, not Gwangju City. There are no traffic lights at the crosswalk, and the decision to install them is also made by the Gwangju Police Agency.” He added, “When the police decide on installing any facilities, Gwangju City visits the site to consider technical aspects and informs whether it is possible within the relevant budget.”

A Gwangju Police Agency official said, “This accident was caused by vehicles coming from the opposite direction that did not comply with the pedestrian protection duty to stop when there is a crosswalk, and the negligence of the truck driver, not because there were no traffic lights.” He added, “The accident site is a low-traffic area, and if there had been traffic lights, the congestion at the apartment residents’ entrances and exits would have worsened, and the criticism would have been directed at the police.”

A Buk-gu official said, “It is unfortunate that similar accidents have repeatedly occurred at the same location,” and added, “Unlike the accident in May, the Gwangju Police Agency this time requested active cooperation for the installation of traffic lights and speed cameras through an official letter.”

Lee Jeong-hwan, Chair of the Industry and Construction Committee of the Gwangju City Council and a PhD in engineering, pointed out, “The police and local governments must move away from reactive administration that fixes the barn after losing the cow and take proactive measures at points where traffic accidents frequently occur.” He added, “While small roads and residential streets should be improved with a pedestrian-centered environment, the accident site was reinforced mainly with safety facilities. Since many studies have made it possible to predict points where traffic accidents frequently occur, traffic policies should focus on prevention.”

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