Tunnel Traffic Accidents Increased by 44% Over 5 Years... Sharp Rise in Death Toll

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The number of people injured or killed in traffic accidents in tunnels has increased by more than 40% over the past five years.

According to the Korea Road Traffic Authority on the 24th, the number of tunnel traffic accidents increased by 44%, from 535 cases in 2016 to 771 cases in 2020, and the number of deaths increased by 48%, from 27 to 40 during the same period. The fatality rate, which is the number of deaths per 100 traffic accidents, was 3.7 for tunnel accidents, more than twice the overall traffic accident fatality rate of 1.4.

As of 2020, there are 2,742 tunnels nationwide, with 86.5% located in eight metropolitan cities including Gyeonggi and Gangwon. Among these, 54% of tunnel traffic accidents over the past five years occurred in Gyeonggi (1,016 cases), Seoul (626 cases), and Busan (295 cases). The tunnel with the most accidents was the Jungwon Tunnel in Gwangju and Seongnam cities, Gyeonggi Province. There were 40 accidents in the last five years, followed by Hwangryeong Tunnel (37 cases) and Baekyoung Tunnel (33 cases) in Busan.

By accident type, due to the nature of tunnels where lane changes are prohibited, rear-end collisions were more common than side collisions. Seasonally, while overall traffic accidents occurred most frequently in October and November, tunnel traffic accidents were most frequent in May and June, when outdoor activities increase. By time of occurrence, 70% of tunnel accidents happened during the daytime, with the highest number of accidents occurring between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., when concentration tends to decline.

A representative from the Korea Road Traffic Authority said, "When entering a tunnel from a bright area, a phenomenon called dark adaptation occurs, where vision momentarily goes dark before gradually adjusting. In winter, the areas around tunnel entrances and exits are prone to icing, increasing the risk of accidents," adding, "It is important to reduce speed and maintain a safe distance when entering and exiting tunnels."

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