Pedestrian Traffic Accidents Increase by 10% After Social Distancing Lifted... Police Launch Intensive Crackdown

Traffic Accidents Increased by 10.5% in April Compared to January-March This Year... Deaths Also Up by 13.9%

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] It has been revealed that pedestrian traffic accidents are increasing following the lifting of social distancing measures. The police plan to conduct focused crackdowns, considering that accidents mainly occur among vulnerable groups such as the elderly.

According to the "Average Daily Traffic Accidents and Fatalities in the First Quarter and April" released by the National Police Agency on the 12th, traffic accidents in April this year increased by 10.5% and fatalities by 13.9% compared to January to March. Although traffic accidents generally increased in April compared to January to March during the five years before COVID-19, fatalities showed a relatively slight increase, which is a different trend.

The increase in traffic accidents is analyzed to be due to increased mobility following the announcement of the lifting of social distancing. According to Statistics Korea, mobility, which was 106.14 million cases in the fourth week of January, decreased to 103.79 million cases in the fourth week of February but increased to 112.86 million cases in the fourth week of April.

Pedestrian traffic accidents are also on the rise. Traffic accidents in April this year increased by 26.6% compared to January to March, and the average daily fatalities also rose by 19.4%. This is also a different trend from before COVID-19, when fatalities tended to decrease even as traffic accidents increased. In particular, fatalities among elderly pedestrians aged 65 and over have increased significantly. Before COVID-19, the proportion of elderly pedestrian fatalities in April was about 45-55%, lower than in January to March, but this April it rose to 65.3%. Additionally, the fatality rate of elderly pedestrian traffic accidents in April this year was 5.6%, similar to the pre-COVID-19 period.

Drunk driving traffic accidents also increased in April this year. Although drunk driving accidents have been decreasing overall this year, the average daily traffic accidents in April increased by 0.6% (34.8 cases → 35.0 cases) compared to January to March, and average daily fatalities increased by 28.6% (0.31 persons → 0.40 persons) during the same period. The time periods when drunk driving accidents occur showed similar trends to those before COVID-19. During January to March, when social distancing was in place, accidents were concentrated between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. (27.8%), but in April, this shifted to between 10 p.m. and midnight (23.4%). Furthermore, the proportion of drunk driving accidents between midnight and 2 a.m., which was only 9.2% in January to March, increased to 20% in April this year.

Going forward, the National Police Agency plans to conduct focused crackdowns in May, when outings increase due to changes in traffic conditions. They will conduct nationwide weekly intensive drunk driving crackdowns and also enforce laws against violations that threaten pedestrians, such as signal violations and pedestrian protection violations. In addition, activities such as pedestrian safety education and promotion, as well as strengthening nighttime patrols, will continue.

A National Police Agency official said, “May is both Family Month and a time when outdoor mask-wearing obligations are lifted, so outdoor activities will increase. If people drive after drinking or jaywalk with an excited mind, it can lead to irreversible consequences, so special caution and attention are required.”

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