Single-vehicle accidents with 5 times higher fatality rate... Occur frequently on weekends

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] It has been revealed that single-vehicle accidents caused by drowsiness or speeding have a fatality rate nearly five times higher than general traffic accidents.

According to the analysis results of "Characteristics and Safety Measures of Single-Vehicle Traffic Accidents" announced on the 31st by the Samsung Traffic Safety Culture Research Institute affiliated with Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, the average fatality rate of single-vehicle accidents reported to the police from January 2016 to December last year was 8.0%, which is 4.7 times higher than the overall accident fatality rate of 1.7%.

Looking at the fatality rates by type of single-vehicle accident, collisions with roadside structures such as utility poles accounted for the highest proportion at 40.1%, and the fatality rate per accident was highest in road departure and fall accidents (23.3%). By driver age group, the number of accidents and fatality rates were highest in the 50s (26.8%) and those aged 65 and over (28.5%), respectively.

The proportions of accidents and fatalities caused by drunk driving were 18.9% and 14.7%, respectively, which are 2.3 times and 1.5 times higher than the drunk driving accident occurrence rate (8.4%) and fatality rate (9.9%) of all traffic accidents. Regarding the number of years since obtaining a driver's license, drivers with more than 15 years of experience accounted for 58.6% of accidents, representing the majority.

Wearing safety gear at the time of single-vehicle accidents with high fatality rates reduces the fatality rate by 3.6 times compared to accidents without safety gear. Specifically, wearing a car seatbelt or child car seat reduces the fatality rate by 6.2 times, and wearing a motorcycle helmet reduces it by 1.5 times, according to the analysis.

Seong-ryeol Lee, senior researcher at the Samsung Traffic Safety Culture Research Institute, pointed out, "Since driver error is a major cause of single-vehicle traffic accidents, urgent efforts are needed to reduce casualties from such accidents through road environment maintenance and strengthening the installation of safety facilities."

He added, "At accident-prone locations with a high risk of single-vehicle accidents, active administration by local governments and related agencies is necessary to install road safety facilities such as driver warning signs, impact-absorbing devices, and protective fences based on accident types, as well as to organize and relocate obstacles exposed on the roadside for environmental maintenance."

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