Traffic Accidents Concentrate on the Day Before the Holiday... Peak at 2 PM on Seollal Day

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Amid expectations that travel during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday will decrease compared to previous years due to the spread of COVID-19, it has been found that many traffic accidents occur on the day before the holiday begins.

According to the Korea Road Traffic Authority on the 6th, an analysis of traffic accidents during the Lunar New Year holidays from 2015 to 2019 over the past five years showed that the average daily number of traffic accidents on the day before the holiday was 719, about 18% higher than the annual daily average of 611. By time of day, traffic accidents were concentrated between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Applying this to this year's Lunar New Year holiday, special caution is required for returning vehicles during the 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. time slot on the 10th.

Additionally, the average daily number of traffic accidents during the holiday period was 458, which is lower than usual, but the number of casualties per 100 accidents was 172.2, 14% higher than the usual 151.4.

In particular, on the day of Lunar New Year, accidents were concentrated around 2 p.m., and the "casualty rate," which indicates the ratio of deaths and injuries to the number of accidents, was highest at 2.8.

By road type, due to an increase in long-distance travel vehicles, the proportion of traffic accidents on expressways increased by about 1.7 times compared to usual, and the proportion of deaths caused by drunk driving during the Lunar New Year holiday period was also high at 13.6%.

Min Kyung-jin, head of the Traffic Accident Comprehensive Analysis Center at the Korea Road Traffic Authority, emphasized, “We ask that you refrain from traveling as much as possible to prevent the spread of COVID-19 during this Lunar New Year holiday,” and added, “For those who inevitably plan to return home, please pay special attention to safe driving as it is a holiday spent with family.”

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