Full Implementation of 'Safe Speed 5030'... Police Begin Analysis

Security Research Institute Orders Policy Effectiveness Analysis Service
Selection by City Size and Road Type
Investigation of Traffic Safety and Efficiency

On the 18th, a 'Safe Speed 5030' sign was installed on a road in downtown Seoul. The Safe Speed 5030, which limits vehicle speeds in urban areas nationwide to enhance pedestrian safety, was officially implemented starting from the 17th. For general roads, the speed limit was lowered from the previous 60-80 km/h to 50 km/h, and for residential and other side streets, it was reduced to below 30 km/h. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] In line with the full implementation of the ‘Safe Speed 5030’ policy, which lowers the speed limit in urban areas to 50 km/h, the police are undertaking a comprehensive analysis of the policy’s effects.

According to the police on the 22nd, the Police University’s Institute of Police Policy Research recently commissioned a study titled ‘Comprehensive Effect Analysis of Safe Speed 5030.’ Through this research, the police plan to demonstrate the effectiveness of the nationwide implementation of Safe Speed 5030 and derive objective safety and communication effects to secure public consensus.

Safe Speed 5030 is a policy that reduces vehicle speed limits in urban areas with frequent pedestrian traffic to 50 km/h on general roads and 30 km/h or less on residential side streets. It was introduced in advanced countries such as those in Europe in the 1970s and is already implemented in 31 out of 37 OECD member countries. In South Korea, starting in 2016, the ‘Safe Speed 5030 Council’ was formed with participation from 12 public, private, and academic institutions including the police. Since then, pilot operations have expanded annually, covering areas such as Yeongdo-gu in Busan (2017), the four major gates of Seoul (2018), and the entire Busan area (2019), verifying the policy’s effectiveness.

Data analysis from the pilot areas has shown that traffic accident fatalities and related incidents have decreased by more than 30%. Concerns raised about traffic congestion or taxi fare increases were minimal, with average increases of only 2 minutes and 106 won respectively. However, as complaints still persist mainly among the general public, the police aim to produce objective results and secure public consensus through this comprehensive study.

The comprehensive study will select regions and sections considering city size (large, medium, small cities) and road function (arterial roads, collector-distributor roads), analyzing traffic safety and operational efficiency. Traffic safety analysis will compare the number of traffic accidents, fatalities, serious injuries, and injuries before and after the implementation of Safe Speed 5030 in the designated areas. Operational efficiency will be analyzed by examining changes in travel speed or travel time on major road sections and deriving correlations between the reduction of maximum speed limits in urban areas and changes in travel time. Additionally, a public perception survey will be conducted to assess understanding of the Safe Speed 5030 policy, perceived driving safety, and perceived travel time changes due to the lowered speed limits.

The police are actively urging participation in Safe Speed 5030 for traffic safety. Commissioner General Kim Chang-ryong stated, "If people willingly accept a slight increase in travel time to secure the precious lives and safety of their families and neighbors, Safe Speed 5030 will be established early, and traffic safety will greatly improve."

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