Multiple 7-Car Chain Collision Involving an 80s Driver Near Guryong Tunnel in Gangnam

13 Injured... 5 Receiving Hospital Treatment
Accident Likely Caused by Driver Negligence

A chain collision accident occurred near Guryong Tunnel in Gangnam, Seoul, causing severe traffic congestion when a car driven by an elderly driver in his 80s rear-ended the vehicle in front.

On the 17th, the Suseo Police Station in Seoul announced that at around 9:50 a.m., a passenger car driven by an 80-year-old man, Mr. A, swerved from the first lane to the second lane near the Guryong Tunnel intersection in the direction of the entrance to Guryong Village on Yangjae-daero, Gangnam-gu, and collided with the car ahead.

This accident caused a chain collision involving other vehicles. A total of seven vehicles, including Mr. A’s car and two village buses waiting on the shoulder, became entangled. To manage the accident, lanes 2 to 4 were closed for more than 30 minutes, resulting in severe traffic congestion in the area.

Fortunately, there were no passengers on the village buses at the time except for the drivers. No one was seriously injured in this accident, but 13 people sustained minor injuries, and among them, five, including Mr. A, were transported to the hospital. The police are investigating the detailed circumstances of the accident, considering it was caused by Mr. A’s careless driving.

The number of traffic accidents involving elderly drivers is increasing every year. According to data released on the 2nd by Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Traffic Safety Culture Research Institute, rear-end collisions involving drivers aged 65 and older increased from 3,435 cases in 2020 to 5,142 cases last year, a sharp rise of 49.7% over four years.

Since 2018, local governments have been encouraging elderly drivers to voluntarily surrender their driver’s licenses by offering incentives such as transportation cards, local currency, and gift certificates. However, the current voluntary license surrender rate remains at about 2% (according to National Police Agency statistics).

Last month, near Yeonsinnae Station in Seoul, a major accident occurred when driver Mr. B (79) hit a pedestrian near a crosswalk with his passenger car and continued to crash into guardrails and the vehicle in front. As a result, a man in his 70s who collected recyclables for a living died, and about ten people were injured. Mr. B reportedly told the police, "I do not remember the accident."

Also, on the 27th of last month, during the sentencing hearing for Mr. C (82) at the Chuncheon District Court Criminal Division 1 (Judge Shin Dong-il), the prosecution requested a five-year prison sentence for Mr. C on charges of causing death by a traffic accident under the Special Act on Traffic Accident Handling. Mr. C is accused of hitting three pedestrians crossing a crosswalk while driving a passenger car near Namchuncheon Station in Toegye-dong, Chuncheon City, at 6:45 a.m. on November 22 last year, resulting in their deaths. Investigations confirmed that Mr. C ignored a red light and drove at 97 km/h on a road with a speed limit of 60 km/h. The sentencing hearing for Mr. C will be held on the 19th.

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