Police to Expand Diagonal Crosswalks and Flexibly Manage Speed Limits

Diagonal Crosswalks, Simultaneous Pedestrian Signals Expanded Implementation

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] The National Police Agency announced on the 14th that it held the '2023 National Traffic Police Workshop' to discuss the future direction of traffic police.

The workshop, held at the Ewha Girls' High School 100th Anniversary Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul, was attended by over 300 traffic division chiefs from police agencies and stations nationwide. They shared key policies to reduce traffic accident fatalities and discussed measures to prepare for changes in future social environments.

Cho Jiho, Deputy Commissioner of the National Police Agency, urged, "Please strive to ensure traffic safety at a level that vulnerable road users such as the elderly and children can trust," adding, "I hope you will focus on policies that enhance safety while reducing inconvenience in cooperation with local autonomous police committees."

The police decided to expand diagonal crosswalks and simultaneous pedestrian signals. Diagonal crosswalks allow pedestrians to cross in all directions, including diagonally, reducing the number of times pedestrians cross intersections to once. Additionally, by operating simultaneous pedestrian signals that turn on green lights for pedestrians in all directions, they plan to secure safety.

They will also expand roads where speed limits are flexibly managed. While maintaining the basic system of a 50 km/h speed limit on urban roads, speed limits will be raised to 60 km/h in areas where pedestrian crossing is unlikely or where pedestrian access is difficult, such as bridges and tunnels.

Furthermore, child protection zones on arterial roads will implement flexible speed limits that adjust up or down depending on the time of day, considering the risk of traffic accidents.

The automatic transmission condition, previously applied only to Class 2 regular licenses, will be extended to Class 1 regular licenses, and rear unmanned traffic enforcement equipment capable of cracking down on motorcycle signal violations and speeding will be introduced. Other measures include strengthening traffic safety promotion targeting the elderly and inspecting accident factors such as overloaded or illegally modified freight trucks.

A National Police Agency official stated, "As we enter a super-aged society and with the advancement of science and technology, changes in social environments require changes in traffic police policies," adding, "We will strive to discover more traffic policies that enhance traffic safety while reducing public inconvenience."

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