Still Confused About Right Turns? 6 Common Questions Answered Through Q&A

On the first day of the enforcement of the amended Road Traffic Act, which strengthens the obligation to protect pedestrians such as stopping temporarily in front of crosswalks, a right-turning vehicle is stopped on the road near Seoul Station on the 12th. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] It has been ten days since the revised Road Traffic Act, which strengthened the obligation to protect pedestrians, came into effect, but confusion continues on the ground. Drivers generally respond that they are confused about when exactly they must stop at crosswalks encountered after making a right turn at intersections. On the 22nd, the National Police Agency released explanatory materials so that citizens can accurately understand the changes. Below is a Q&A summary.

Q. Drivers are confused about the correct method of making right turns at intersections under the recently revised Road Traffic Act. What is the correct method?

A. If a pedestrian is crossing or intending to cross the crosswalk, the driver must stop before making the right turn; if not, the driver may proceed with caution while making the right turn. At this time, whether the traffic light is red or green does not affect the obligation to stop.

Q. From the perspective of pedestrian protection, if the traffic light is green when making a right turn at an intersection, should the driver stop even if there are no pedestrians?

A. If there are no pedestrians, the driver may make the right turn without stopping. Since drivers’ attention may be distracted by observing pedestrian signals, it is preferable to judge based on the presence or absence of pedestrians. If the traffic light is used as the criterion, it may be difficult to respond promptly to various situations such as pedestrians who have not finished crossing.

Q. Should drivers stop for pedestrians who jaywalk when the pedestrian signal is red at a crosswalk?

A. Even if the pedestrian signal is red, drivers must stop if there are pedestrians. Vulnerable road users may enter on a green signal but be unable to finish crossing when the signal turns red. Considering the purpose of the law revision, it is necessary to stop for pedestrians crossing even when the pedestrian signal is red.

Q. In child protection zones, there is an obligation to stop at crosswalks without traffic lights regardless of pedestrians. If a vehicle stopped due to traffic congestion, must it stop again in front of the crosswalk?

A. The purpose of the law is to prevent accidents in cases where children suddenly appear on crosswalks within protection zones. Even if the vehicle stopped due to congestion, it is necessary to stop again in front of crosswalks without traffic lights within the protection zone.

Q. There are reports that citizens are confused about the right turn method and even police officers do not know the exact details. What are the countermeasures?

A. To ensure citizens accurately understand the revised content, the guidance and publicity period will be extended to three months, and enforcement standards and methods will be supplemented based on field feedback, along with education. (Accordingly, the guidance period will be extended until October 11. Initially, fines and penalties were scheduled to be imposed starting next month on the 12th.)

Q. Regarding the obligation to stop in front of crosswalks, what exactly does "when intending to cross" mean?

A. It means when the intention to cross is clearly expressed externally. The concept is based on the pedestrian’s internal intention, and there have been many criticisms such as "how can one know whether the pedestrian intends to cross or not?" However, it is advisable for drivers to interpret "when intending to cross" as broadly as possible when driving. The police plan to enforce regulations when the pedestrian’s intention to cross is objectively and clearly expressed externally or when a specific danger arises among various situations where pedestrians intend to cross.

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