Reducing 'Goryeong Driving' to Lower Traffic Accidents... Busan City Implements Comprehensive Plan to Cut Accident Rate Below 15%

Busan City Hall.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Busan City is implementing a comprehensive plan to reduce traffic accidents involving elderly drivers and elderly pedestrians.

The city is promoting 8 tasks in 3 areas this year to reduce the traffic accident rate among the elderly to below 15%.

The traffic accident rate of elderly license holders in Busan was 15.3% in 2020 and 17.2% in 2021, with a goal to reduce it to below 15% this year.

First, in the field of establishing a traffic safety foundation for the elderly, the city will implement ▲ self-assessment cognitive ability tests for elderly transportation workers ▲ strengthening traffic safety rules education for elderly transportation workers ▲ support for participation in traffic safety experience education ▲ operation of elderly traffic safety consultants.

A self-assessment cognitive ability test will be conducted for transportation workers aged 75 and older. The mandatory 4-hour refresher course for elderly transportation workers now includes preventive measures related to physical changes such as elderly traffic safety rules.

The elderly traffic safety consultant operation project, which was suspended due to COVID-19, will be reactivated in the second half of the year by appointing traffic safety professional consultants and promoting “visiting traffic safety education for elderly drivers and elderly pedestrians” targeting senior leisure facilities, considering quarantine guidelines.

In the field of elderly pedestrian safety protection, the city will promote ▲ designation and maintenance of senior protection zones ▲ creation of pedestrian-priority roads ▲ installation of diagonal crosswalks.

Two additional senior protection zones will be maintained, and two locations including Suyeong Paldo Market will be developed as pedestrian-priority roads to improve the walking environment with pedestrian-friendly pavement.

Also, the city will survey the demand for diagonal crosswalk installation at major intersections in Busan and plan to implement about 10 locations requiring pedestrian safety and mobility convenience with supplementary budget in the second half of this year.

In the field of supporting safe driving for elderly drivers, the city will promote ▲ expansion of incentives for voluntary surrender of driver’s licenses ▲ public campaigns such as operation of senior traffic safety activity groups ▲ and institutional improvements such as strengthening aptitude tests for elderly drivers.

To revitalize the elderly driver license surrender program, which the city first implemented nationwide in 2018, the supplementary budget will be allocated from the second half of this year to increase public transportation support for voluntary license surrenders by those aged 65 and older from 100,000 KRW to 200,000 KRW.

Through the operation of elderly traffic safety education assistants and senior traffic safety activity groups, the city will strengthen guidance activities for license surrender and public traffic safety campaigns. Additionally, to prevent traffic accidents involving elderly drivers, the city plans to propose an amendment to the Road Traffic Act to expand the mandatory aptitude test target to those aged 65 and older.

Park Hyung-jun, Mayor of Busan, said, “Considering the recent increase in traffic accidents involving elderly drivers and Busan’s status as the metropolitan city with the highest elderly population aged 65 and older, we have prepared various measures.”

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