'Traffic Safety Reporting Team' Implemented for 3 Years... Motorcycle Accident Deaths Significantly Decrease

Analysis of Public Interest Reporting Team Activities at Korea Transportation Safety Authority
36% Decrease in Traffic Accident Deaths Due to Signal Violations

With the implementation of the Traffic Safety Public Reporting Team targeting two-wheeled vehicles, the number of fatalities in two-wheeled vehicle traffic accidents for major reported violations such as signal violations has significantly decreased.

According to the Korea Transportation Safety Authority on the 21st, the reduction rate of fatalities in two-wheeled vehicle traffic accidents over the past three years (2019?2021) was about 8% (498 in 2019 → 459 in 2021). However, fatalities from traffic accidents related to signal violations, which the Traffic Safety Public Reporting Team focused on, decreased by 36% (106 in 2019 → 68 in 2021), and fatalities caused by crossing the center line decreased by 28% (106 in 2019 → 68 in 2021).

The implementation of a public reporting team for traffic safety targeting two-wheeled vehicles has significantly reduced fatalities in traffic accidents involving two-wheelers for major reported violations such as running red lights. The photo shows a motorcycle passing through an intersection in downtown Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Traffic Safety Public Reporting Team was introduced in May 2020 as part of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s measures to reduce two-wheeled vehicle traffic accidents, in response to the rapidly expanding delivery culture following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Authority provides rewards for public reports on six violations of the Road Traffic Act (signal violations, driving on sidewalks, crossing the center line, illegal U-turns/crossing/backing violations, failure to protect pedestrians, and not wearing helmets), as well as for obscured or damaged license plates on two-wheeled vehicles, with a monthly limit of 20 cases per reporter.

Last year, 4,247 people participated and were active in the Public Reporting Team. The Authority paid a total of 1.12 billion KRW in rewards based on the reporting performance of team members.

The top 100 reporters annually averaged 705 reports, which was 12.8 times higher than the overall average of 55 reports. Among them, the most active Public Reporting Team member submitted a total of 2,994 reports.

By violation category, the number of public reports was 113,222 for ‘signal violations,’ accounting for 48.5% of all reports, followed by 35,720 for ‘driving on sidewalks’ (15.3%), and 26,307 for ‘crossing the center line’ (11.3%).

Public evaluation of the Traffic Safety Public Reporting Team was also positive. According to the ‘2022 Traffic Safety Public Reporting Team Satisfaction Survey’ conducted by the Authority, 95.6% of respondents believed that traffic law violations by delivery two-wheeled vehicles were serious, and 92.4% supported the operation of the Public Reporting Team.

Kwon Yong-bok, Chairman of the Korea Transportation Safety Authority, said, “Traffic law violations by delivery two-wheeled vehicles increase public anxiety and can lead to traffic accidents. To prevent two-wheeled vehicle traffic accidents, we will collaborate with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to add violations related to pedestrian protection at crosswalks to the reporting categories, and we will also expand the reporting categories and operating entities so that local governments can operate Public Reporting Teams.”

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