9 out of 10 Drivers Do Not Yield to Pedestrians

Korea Transportation Safety Authority Announces Survey Results on Drivers' Compliance with Stop Duty at Unsignalized Crosswalks

A pedestrian is crossing an unsignalized crosswalk, but the vehicle is driving without stopping. / Photo by Korea Transportation Safety Authority.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo Gang-wook] It has been revealed that 9 out of 10 drivers do not yield to pedestrians.

According to the Korea Transportation Safety Authority on the 8th, only 4.3% of drivers yielded when pedestrians attempted to cross at signal-free crosswalks.

The Authority conducted a ‘Compliance Survey on Drivers’ Obligation to Stop at Signal-Free Crosswalks’ at five locations last month, including entrances and exits in Jongno-gu, Seoul, single-lane roads, and school zones. During 185 pedestrian crossing attempts at signal-free crosswalks, drivers stopped for pedestrians only 8 times.

Looking in detail by road characteristics, at entrances and exits where wide and narrow roads meet, 8.6% (6 out of 70 vehicles) of drivers complied with the stop regulation. However, on single-lane roads, none of the 79 drivers complied.

In school zones in front of elementary schools, the compliance rate for the stop regulation was only 5.5% (2 out of 36 vehicles).

An official from the Authority said, “At entrances and exits, drivers tend to reduce speed to merge onto the road, so the rate of yielding to pedestrians appears to be somewhat higher,” adding, “It is important to drive slowly, thinking that pedestrians may cross at any time at crosswalks.”

According to a ‘Recognition Survey on the Obligation to Stop at Signal-Free Crosswalks’ conducted by the Authority last December, 92.1% of the public responded that they are aware of the stop obligation regulation at signal-free crosswalks. However, there was a significant gap between awareness of the obligation and actual compliance.

Additionally, in this survey, the percentage of vehicles stopping when there were pedestrians waiting to cross the crosswalk was only 1.4% (1 out of 73 vehicles).

As part of the government’s ‘2021 Traffic Accident Fatality Reduction Measures’ announced in March, aimed at establishing a pedestrian-first traffic environment, the government is considering imposing an obligation for drivers to stop even when pedestrians are attempting to cross at signal-free crosswalks.

If the obligation to stop at signal-free crosswalks is expanded in the future, drivers will have to stop even when pedestrians are waiting in front of the crosswalk.

Kwon Yong-bok, Director of the Authority, emphasized, “For a pedestrian-first, people-first traffic culture to spread, it is most important to cultivate the habit of ‘stop as soon as you see a person,’” adding, “Everyone should remember that once you get out of the car, you are a pedestrian.”

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