Government to Improve Hazard Factors at High-Risk Locations for Elderly Pedestrian Traffic Accidents

In the future, traffic environment improvements such as illegal obstacle removal and expansion of pedestrian spaces will be carried out at high-risk locations for elderly pedestrian traffic accidents, tailored to on-site conditions.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Korea Road Traffic Authority announced on the 29th that since last October, they have conducted joint inspections targeting locations with a high risk of elderly pedestrian traffic accidents, together with related agencies such as the National Police Agency and local governments. Based on the results, they plan to develop maintenance measures suited to on-site conditions to improve traffic safety environments.

This inspection selected 60 locations predicted to have a high incidence of elderly pedestrian traffic accidents by utilizing big data such as population flow of those aged 65 and older, location information of elderly welfare facilities and traditional markets, and traffic accident data. As a result of the on-site inspection, a total of 455 risk factors and improvement items were identified.

First, road environment factors refer to cases where the road itself, such as sidewalks and pedestrian spaces, lacks an environment suitable for pedestrians, accounting for the largest number of risk factors at 202 cases (44.4%). Improvements will be made through measures such as installing new crosswalks, improving signal systems to extend pedestrian signal times, expanding pedestrian spaces by reducing lanes, and installing anti-jaywalking facilities such as guardrails.

Additionally, safety facility factors refer to cases where facilities for traffic safety are outdated or insufficient, with 163 cases (35.8%) identified as risk factors. To address these factors, plans include repairing aging traffic safety facilities such as repainting road markings, trimming trees, removing illegal obstacles, and reinstalling safety signs and signals to enhance safety.

Driver risk factors refer to cases where drivers threaten pedestrian safety due to violations of traffic laws, with 90 cases (19.8%) identified, including illegal parking, speeding, and signal violations. To improve this, measures such as installing raised crosswalks and speed bumps to induce vehicle deceleration, as well as installing enforcement equipment to crack down on illegal parking and speeding to ensure drivers comply with regulations, will be promoted.

Lee Yong-cheol, Director of the Safety Prevention Policy Office at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, stated, “South Korea is experiencing rapid aging, and as social activities of the elderly increase, the risk of elderly traffic accidents is rising.” He added, “The government will continue to conduct diagnoses and maintenance of frequent accident areas and high-risk locations to reduce elderly pedestrian traffic accidents.”

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