"Please Move Aside" Do You Know the 'Golden Time 5 Minutes' That Saves Lives? [A Reporter Visits]

Nationwide Emergency Vehicle On-Site Arrival 'Golden Time' Securing Rate 57.4%
Patients with Cardiac Arrest or Respiratory Distress Must Be Treated Within 4-6 Minutes
Up to 2 Million KRW Fine for Violating Duty to Yield When Fire Trucks Move
Some Drivers' Illegal Parking Makes Access Difficult

The fire truck is returning after an urgent dispatch. Photo by Seunggon Han hsg@asiae.co.kr

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] "Lives are at stake, so you have to move aside quickly," "Sometimes the traffic is so congested that we can't move."

The 'golden time' to arrive at the scene within 5 minutes to save a life is emphasized even more during the year-end and New Year holidays amid various accidents and emergencies such as fires. The reason the golden time is important is that, according to the medical community, patients with cardiac arrest or respiratory distress suffer significant brain damage if emergency treatment is not received within 4 to 6 minutes. Therefore, this '5 minutes' is universally recognized as a critical time that must be strictly observed by both patients and the firefighting and medical communities.

However, during urgent dispatches, it is difficult to observe this golden time properly due to illegally parked vehicles blocking the road or accident scenes. According to one survey, the probability that fire trucks or ambulances arrive at the accident scene within 5 minutes after a report is only slightly over half.

According to data released in June by the Samsung Traffic Safety Culture Institute affiliated with Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, the number of fire suppression fire truck dispatches nationwide over the past two years (2017-2018) was 86,518 cases, averaging 118.5 cases per day, which corresponds to about 4.9 dispatches per hour.

The rate of securing the golden time from dispatch to arrival at the scene due to fire was only 57.4% on average, barely exceeding half. There were many difficulties in initial response to emergencies, and when fire trucks arrived at the scene after exceeding the 5-minute golden time, the number of deaths doubled and the damage amount increased more than threefold compared to arriving within 5 minutes.

Also, since 2015, traffic accidents involving emergency vehicles (fire trucks) have increased by 1.76 times. The main causes of traffic accidents were signal violations at intersections and failure to drive safely on general roads (single roads) due to driver negligence, and it was announced that these were presumed to be the result of urgent driving without ensuring safety to arrive quickly at the accident scene.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Some citizens, while acknowledging that sometimes it cannot be helped depending on the situation, emphasized the need to guarantee the passage of emergency vehicles such as fire trucks as much as possible in urgent situations.

Kim, a man in his 30s who works in an office, said, "Recently, dozens of fire trucks were following behind, and I tried to change lanes, but due to traffic volume and signals, the situation was difficult," expressing, "In this case, drivers are also quite frustrated." He added, "If it weren't for such situations, I try to make sure the (fire) vehicles can get through as much as possible."

Park, a man in his 40s working at a company, also said, "Sometimes you just get stuck on the road and can't help it," adding, "In an emergency, I cooperate as much as possible with the thought that the patient could be me or my family."

However, unlike the situation on the road, another barrier blocking urgent dispatches is illegally parked vehicles scattered throughout city alleys. According to firefighting authorities, the four major illegal parking prohibition zones are △within 5 meters of fire extinguishing facilities, △within 5 meters of road corners at intersections, △within 10 meters to the left and right of bus stop signs, and △on crosswalks and within stop lines.

However, despite these regulations, some vehicles illegally park even in alleys and side streets. As a result, it is difficult to properly observe the golden time. Ultimately, the government revised the Road Traffic Act last April to secure the golden time.

According to the revised law, △parking within 5 meters of fire water facilities or emergency fire extinguishing devices is completely prohibited. △Areas around firefighting facilities have been changed from 'no parking zones' to 'no stopping or parking zones,' meaning even brief parking is not allowed.

Violations by passenger cars will incur a fine increased from the previous 40,000 won to 80,000 won, and for vans and large vehicles, a fine of 90,000 won will be imposed. Additionally, if drivers fail to yield the right of way when fire trucks are moving, a fine of up to 2 million won may be imposed.

Experts emphasized the need for more proactive institutional improvements to secure the golden time. Joonhan Cho, senior researcher at the Samsung Traffic Safety Culture Institute, stated, "Emergency situations directly related to the lives and property of the public require securing the golden time and rapid on-site response." He suggested, "To this end, improvements such as ensuring the safety and mobility of emergency vehicles, operating priority signal systems for emergency vehicles, and expanding special provisions for emergency vehicle passage are necessary."

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