142 Elderly Deaths in Rainy Road Traffic Accidents Over 3 Years... Caution Needed During Jangma Season

The Korea Transportation Safety Authority, together with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, announced on the 12th that an analysis of wet road traffic accidents involving elderly drivers over the past three years (2019?2021) revealed a total of 5,408 traffic accidents and 142 fatalities.

While traffic accidents involving elderly drivers on clear days have been decreasing annually, the fatality rate of wet road traffic accidents (number of deaths per 100 traffic accidents) has increased by an average of 10.6% per year. Special caution is required to prevent wet road traffic accidents during the summer monsoon season.

Examining the fatality rates of wet road traffic accidents by vehicle use among elderly drivers, the fatality rate for commercial vehicles was the lowest at 1.99, followed by non-commercial vehicles at 2.41, and two-wheelers at 6.82.

In particular, for commercial vehicles with a high proportion of large vehicles, the fatality rate of wet road traffic accidents was found to be nearly twice as high compared to clear days.

By detailed commercial use, the fatality rates of wet road traffic accidents were 5.26 for freight vehicles, 4.93 for buses, and 1.37 for taxis. Comparing fatality rates of wet road accidents to clear days, buses were 3.4 times higher and freight vehicles 2.3 times higher.

On wet roads, the friction between tires and the road surface decreases, increasing the braking distance compared to dry roads. The faster the vehicle speed or the more worn the tires, the longer the braking distance becomes.

According to a 2017 braking distance experiment by the Korea Transportation Safety Authority, the average braking distance of vehicles on wet roads was found to increase by up to 1.8 times compared to clear days,

and at high speeds over 100 km/h, tires with high wear can increase braking distance by up to 1.5 times compared to new tires.

Kwon Yong-bok, Director of the Authority, stated, "To prevent wet road traffic accidents, it is necessary to maintain a wider safety distance between vehicles than usual and reduce speed by more than 20% of the maximum speed." He added, "Since commercial large vehicles such as buses and freight trucks have a high risk of accidents due to hydroplaning caused by tire wear, regular tire wear inspections and vehicle maintenance during the monsoon season should be conducted."

He also emphasized, "Elderly drivers with reduced cognitive and physical abilities have difficulty securing forward visibility during rainfall and lack the ability to respond to sudden emergencies, increasing accident risk. Therefore, they should pay extra attention to maintaining a safe distance from the vehicle ahead."

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