"Supporting Transportation-Vulnerable Groups" ... Changwon Special City Leads Efforts to Prevent Traffic Accidents Among Seniors

From Improvement of Protection Zone Facilities to Traffic Safety Education

Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam is actively working on creating an "Elderly-Friendly Traffic City" to prevent traffic accidents involving elderly people, who are vulnerable road users, and to establish a safe traffic environment.

Photo after construction in the elderly protection zone.

According to the city on the 16th, to prevent traffic accidents involving elderly drivers, a program is being implemented that provides local currency (Onnuri gift certificates) worth 100,000 KRW once to drivers aged 70 and older who voluntarily surrender their driver's licenses.

Elderly drivers wishing to voluntarily surrender their licenses can apply by personally bringing their driver's license to the administrative welfare center of their local eup, myeon, or dong jurisdiction.

This year, the city invested 100 million KRW in January for the first round to provide incentives to 1,000 people and plans to continue supporting additional applicants.

Additionally, the city is promoting multifaceted traffic safety policies such as ▲ visiting traffic safety education ▲ improvement of elderly protection zone facilities ▲ installation of safe crossing lights at crosswalks ▲ distribution of vehicle attachment signs for elderly drivers (Silver Mark) to ensure a safe traffic environment for both elderly drivers and pedestrians.

Furthermore, the city has launched the K-Pass transportation card program, allowing seniors aged 75 and older to use public transportation free of charge without any limit on the number of rides, replacing the previous monthly limit of 8 rides. The city is also actively expanding transportation welfare by operating voucher taxis for vulnerable road users and running Hope Taxis in public transportation underserved areas.

Lee Jong-geun, Director of the Transportation and Construction Bureau, said, “We ask for the active interest and participation of elderly citizens in the voluntary driver's license surrender support program to prevent traffic accidents,” and added, “We will prioritize citizen safety and continue to focus not only on improving facilities but also on raising traffic safety awareness to develop effective policies.”

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