"Driving with Blurry Vision After Eye Surgery?" Careless Driving Attitude Causing School Zone Accidents

On the 11th, a mother who was crossing the crosswalk to take her 4-year-old daughter to kindergarten was hit by a car and died. Photo by KBS capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Jumi Lee] Despite the strengthened penalties for traffic accidents in school zones, tragic traffic accidents continue to occur. There are calls for drivers to improve their safety awareness.

On the 11th, a mother in her 30s who was holding the hand of her young daughter on the way to kindergarten and crossing a crosswalk in Incheon was hit by a car and died. The accident occurred in a children's protection zone, and the victim was trapped under the vehicle, sustaining injuries all over her body and was taken to the hospital but died within an hour. Her 4-year-old daughter also injured her knee and is reportedly receiving treatment at the hospital.

According to the police, driver A had undergone surgery on his left eye three days prior and was not fully recovered when he caused the accident while driving. A stated to the police, "Due to the surgery, my vision was blurry, and the A-pillar (the pillar beside the front windshield) obstructed my view, so I could not properly see the mother and daughter."

If the statement is true, A was driving carelessly despite not being able to see properly after the surgery. Moreover, he did not comply with the mandatory stop at the crosswalk within the school zone, where safe driving is especially required.

This is not the only case of school zone traffic accidents caused by drivers' careless safety awareness.

In March, a 10-year-old girl crossing a crosswalk alone in front of an elementary school was hit and killed by a cargo truck. Investigation revealed that the truck driver made an illegal right turn. He violated the Road Traffic Act regulation that requires "slow driving along the right edge of the road before making a right turn" and made an illegal right turn from the third lane, which is a straight lane, out of three lanes in one direction.

Last November, a tragic accident occurred when a mother and her three children crossing a crosswalk in a school zone were hit by a large truck, resulting in the death of one child and serious injuries to the others. Photo by Channel A

Last November, a similarly tragic accident occurred when an 8.5-ton truck hit a family of four in a school zone, resulting in the death of a 3-year-old girl. The three siblings and their mother were crossing a crosswalk from apartment complex 1 to complex 2 and were standing in the middle of the road for about 20 seconds, looking around due to oncoming vehicles from the opposite direction, when the accident happened.

The police charged five more drivers besides the cargo truck driver involved in the accident for violating the Road Traffic Act. Among them, four drivers failed to stop at the crosswalk as required by traffic regulations, and one driver of a daycare vehicle illegally parked on the shoulder. The victims were forced to stand still on the road because they did not stop at the crosswalk and due to cars running in the opposite lane, which increased the risk of the accident.

Considering that accidents have not significantly decreased despite the strengthened penalties for traffic accidents in children's protection zones, known as the "Min-sik Act," it is clear that changes in drivers' attitudes toward driving must accompany the penalties.

According to the "Children's Protection Zone Traffic Safety Enhancement Measures" promoted jointly by government ministries, the number of children's traffic accidents and fatalities in school zones last year were 478 and 3, respectively. Although these numbers have decreased compared to 2019 (567 accidents, 6 deaths), it cannot be concluded that there was a decrease considering the reduced number of school days last year due to COVID-19.

Children are leaving school. There is a growing call for drivers' safety awareness to improve in order to prevent traffic accidents within school zones.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Some local governments have even seen an increase in traffic accidents. According to the Busan Police Agency, the number of children's traffic accidents in school zones in Busan was 33 in the year before the Min-sik Act was enforced (March 25, 2019 ? March 24, 2020). However, in the nine months after the law was enacted (March 25, 2020 ? December 31, 2020), the number of accidents increased to 44.

Daegu also saw an increase in traffic accidents in children's protection zones. According to Daegu City, there were 59 accidents in school zones last year, a slight increase from 54 in 2019. Considering the reduced school attendance due to the spread of COVID-19 in these two regions, these figures cannot be overlooked.

Experts emphasize the need for drivers to improve their safety awareness regarding children's protection zones. Traffic accident specialist lawyer Kyung-il Jung stated on MBC Radio's "Pyo Chang-won's News High Kick," "The decisive cause of the accident (the school zone family tragedy) was the vehicle drivers," adding, "If drivers adopt the mindset that 'children's safety and lives come first' and 'it's okay to be inconvenienced' when driving in children's protection zones, even if traffic is inconvenient, it will be a fundamental solution."