"Increased Traffic Accident Victims During Seol Holiday: Essential Traffic Safety Tips to Know in Advance"

On the afternoon of the 28th, vehicles were moving slowly near Bukpyeong IC on the Pyeongtaek-Hwaseong Expressway. (Aerial photography cooperation = Sergeant Moon Heung-ju and Inspector Shim Dong-guk, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency) / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] Many people are preparing for long-distance travel ahead of the Seollal holiday. Experts advise caution as traffic volume increases during the Seollal holiday, leading to a rise in traffic accidents compared to usual.

In fact, an analysis by the General Insurance Association and the Insurance Development Institute of automobile insurance personal injury accident occurrences during the Seollal holiday period from 2016 to 2018 showed that the number of accidents (daily average) on the day before the holiday (the first day of returning home) was 4,031, a 40.1% increase compared to the usual 2,877.

The highest number of injuries during the holiday period occurred on Seollal day itself, with 6,755 people injured, which was about 55.8% higher than usual.

The number of victims from accidents during the Seollal holiday period increased by 17.6% compared to normal times. In particular, victims under 10 years old and youths under 19 years old increased significantly by 76.2% and 92.3%, respectively, while those aged 60 and over decreased compared to usual.

This is analyzed to be because most families travel as family units during the Seollal holiday, usually accompanied by children and adolescents.

Accordingly, for safe long-distance driving in winter, it is pointed out that vehicle condition should be checked before departure, and the use of seat belts by the entire family, including the back seats for young children’s safety, must be confirmed.

Also, sufficient rest should be taken to prepare for long hours of driving, such as using drowsiness rest areas until reaching the destination. During the Seollal holiday period, traffic accidents caused by relaxed safety awareness such as drunk driving and crossing the center line increase, so it is necessary to raise awareness by having drivers strictly comply with traffic laws to prevent major accidents.

If a traffic accident occurs, many drivers become flustered because they do not know how to handle the accident, which can lead to secondary traffic accidents and unnecessary disputes over fault ratios, so caution is required.

In particular, secondary traffic accidents have a fatality rate about six times higher than general accidents, so it is necessary to be familiar with traffic accident response procedures for safe accident handling.

To prevent secondary accidents, turn on the hazard lights immediately after the accident and fully open the vehicle’s trunk. Also, move the vehicle to a safe place such as the roadside if it is drivable.

After confirming safety, set up a safety triangle or flare behind the vehicle, and vehicle occupants should quickly move to a safe place off the road if possible.

If there are injured persons, immediately call 119 and provide first aid according to the instructions.

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