Drunk Driving Accidents Rise Again Amid COVID-19... Averaging 50 Cases Per Day
Road Traffic Authority Analysis
Accident-Causing Drivers Concentrated in Their 20s and 30s
High Rates of Hit-and-Run and Collision Accidents
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwanju] Drunk driving accidents have been on the rise again since last year, accounting for more than 8% of all traffic accidents.
According to the Road Traffic Authority's Traffic Accident Comprehensive Analysis Center on the 24th, a total of 91,622 drunk driving traffic accidents occurred over the past five years (2016?2020), resulting in 1,848 deaths and 154,763 injuries. This means that about 50 drunk driving accidents occur nationwide every day on average.
By time and day of the week, drunk driving accidents were most frequent between 10 p.m. on Friday and 2 a.m. on Saturday, occurring about 31% more on weekends compared to weekdays.
The age group of offending drivers was concentrated in their 20s and 30s, accounting for 46.2% of all drunk driving accidents, with those in their 30s being the largest group at 23.9%. When limited to fatal accidents, traffic accidents involving drivers in their 20s were the most common.
Additionally, since spatial perception and reaction speed are significantly impaired while intoxicated, the proportion of rear-end collisions among vehicle-to-vehicle accidents increased. While rear-end collisions account for 22.0% of all vehicle-to-vehicle accidents, they rose sharply to 46.6% in drunk driving cases. Hit-and-run accidents also accounted for 8.4% of drunk driving accidents, more than twice the rate of hit-and-run accidents (3.5%) among all accidents.
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Na Jaepil, head of the Traffic Accident Comprehensive Analysis Center at the Road Traffic Authority, stated, "Drunk driving is a serious crime that must be eradicated, and it is important not to forget that getting behind the wheel after drinking can lead to irreversible consequences." He urged, "If you have had even a little alcohol, you should use a designated driver or public transportation."
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