One Month After Revised Road Traffic Act Enforcement... Right-Turn Accidents Decrease by 51% Compared to Previous Year

On the first day of the enforcement of the Road Traffic Act amendment, which strengthened 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] The National Police Agency announced on the 18th that after implementing the revised Road Traffic Act, which strengthens the obligation to protect pedestrians, for one month, right-turn traffic accidents have significantly decreased compared to before the enforcement.

According to the police, from July 12, when the revised Road Traffic Act was enforced, to August 10 of this year, there were 722 right-turn traffic accidents, showing a 51.3% decrease compared to the same period last year. During the same period, the number of fatalities was 7, a 61.1% decrease. Additionally, compared to the one month prior to enforcement, from June 12 to July 11 this year, right-turn traffic accidents decreased by 45.8%, and fatalities decreased by 30%.

The National Police Agency analyzed, "It appears that the revised law has laid the groundwork for dramatically improving the safety of pedestrians crossing crosswalks." Looking at the trend of fatalities in right-turn traffic accidents over the past four years, the numbers were 139 in 2018, 139 in 2019, 131 in 2020, and 136 in 2021, showing a stagnant state. This contrasts with the steady decline in overall traffic accident fatalities during the same period, from 3,781 in 2018 to 2,916 last year.

The core of the revised Road Traffic Act is expanding the obligation to stop temporarily in front of crosswalks not only when pedestrians are "crossing" but also when they are "about to cross." At crosswalks without traffic signals in child protection zones, drivers must stop temporarily regardless of whether pedestrians are crossing. Violations result in a fine of 60,000 KRW (for passenger cars) and 10 penalty points for the driver.

After confusion persisted at the scene following the enforcement of the revised Road Traffic Act, the police extended the guidance period from the original one month to three months. The police plan to expand education and publicity efforts, including traffic safety education targeting transportation companies operating buses and trucks, which have large vehicle bodies and find it difficult to spot pedestrians when turning right, to prevent accidents.

A National Police Agency official stated, "Since the obligation to stop temporarily when turning right has become a major topic after the law's enforcement, drivers' awareness has increased significantly on site, leading to a large reduction in accidents," and added, "We will continue to monitor the effects such as changes in traffic accidents so that the revised law is quickly established and a pedestrian-centered traffic culture is rooted."

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