Jaywalking Experience Up 10% Year-on-Year "Long Way to Go for Pedestrian Safety"

Korea Transportation Safety Authority Announces Analysis Results of Vulnerable Indicators in 2020 Traffic Culture Index

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo Gang-wook] Among the 11 indicators of driving and walking behavior last year, 6 indicators were found to have declined compared to the previous year.

According to the results of the "2020 Traffic Culture Index Survey" conducted by the Korea Transportation Safety Authority on the 27th, the nationwide traffic culture index last year was 78.94 points, an increase of 2.3 points (3.0%) from the previous year (76.64 points). However, some of the traffic culture index indicators related to driving and walking behavior, such as seatbelt wearing rate, were found to have decreased compared to the previous year.

Looking at each evaluation indicator, the compliance rate with crosswalk stop lines (81.79%) and the helmet wearing rate of two-wheeled vehicle passengers (90.65%) increased by 4.03% and 6.71%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

On the other hand, the frequency of drunk driving (4.40%) increased compared to last year (4.22%) despite the enforcement of the Yoon Chang-ho Act in 2019 (strengthening standards and penalties for drunk driving).

The indicator for turn signal usage rate (72.65%) also worsened compared to last year (73.37%), meaning that still one out of three drivers drives without using turn signals.

In particular, △signal compliance rate (96.39%→96.06%), △seatbelt wearing rate (84.92%→84.83%), and △smart device usage rate while driving (35.50%→35.92%) have continued to decline for three consecutive years, indicating an urgent need to improve traffic safety awareness.

Among the walking behavior evaluation indicators, the frequency of jaywalking on roads other than crosswalks was 35.27%, an increase of 9.53% compared to last year (32.20%).

An official from the Authority stated, “The number of traffic accident deaths caused by jaywalking in 2019 was 456, accounting for 35.0% of the total pedestrian deaths (1,302), and the proportion of jaywalking deaths has been gradually increasing over the past three years (2017?2019).” He added, “Pedestrians should use safe crosswalks to cross the road and develop the habit of checking their surroundings once more before crossing.”

The Authority plans to continuously promote education and publicity through customized traffic safety projects targeting vulnerable areas by region to improve traffic safety awareness regarding the declining traffic culture index indicators.

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