Seoul City Establishes First 'Drive-Thru Safety Plan' in the Contactless Era... Ensuring Pedestrian Safety

Strengthening Pedestrian Safety Management in Drive-Thru Systems Expanding with Increased Contactless Consumption
Mandatory Installation of Warning Devices at Entrances, Bollards and Braille Blocks on Sidewalks to Prevent Pedestrian Accidents

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] As non-face-to-face consumption has increased due to COVID-19, the drive-thru purchase method, which allows ordering, payment, and pickup all from inside the car, is spreading. Currently, there are a total of 49 drive-thru purchase locations operating in Seoul, including McDonald's, Starbucks, and Lotteria.

On the 7th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it has established the nation’s first "Drive-Thru Purchase Location Safety Plan" to create a safe pedestrian environment near drive-thru purchase locations and will implement it starting this month. The goal is to prevent sidewalk congestion and pedestrian safety accidents caused by the increased use of drive-thrus.

According to the established safety plan, alarm devices will be installed at drive-thru entrances and exits, and bollards and tactile blocks will be mandatorily installed on sidewalks to help pedestrians recognize vehicles and pay attention. To maintain pedestrian continuity, the entrances and exits will be paved with the same materials as the existing sidewalks, and sloped sections will be constructed in red tones so that vehicles can recognize them.

In particular, the entrance will secure about 6 meters of space, enough for at least one vehicle to wait, to prevent waiting vehicles from encroaching on the sidewalk. At the exit, a stop line will be marked so that drivers can check for passing pedestrians.

Seoul will actively guide compliance with the safety plan for the existing 49 drive-thru purchase locations through each autonomous district. For new drive-thru purchase locations, when applying for road occupancy permits, the city plans to prevent surrounding traffic congestion by reviewing whether essential conditions according to the safety plan are met and by examining traffic impact assessments.

The main contents of the "Drive-Thru Purchase Location Safety Plan" include establishing safety facility installation standards for pedestrian safety, strengthening the road occupancy permit review process, and enhancing safety facility inspections. When opening new drive-thru purchase locations, essential and recommended facility standards for securing safety have been separately prepared. Essential facilities are mandatory for obtaining road occupancy permits. The safety plan must be followed regarding alarm devices, bollards, pavement materials, sloped sections, tactile blocks, waiting spaces, and stop lines.

Seoul will make compliance with the safety plan mandatory by strengthening the road occupancy permit procedures carried out through autonomous districts when opening new drive-thrus. In particular, when applying for road occupancy permits, the existing submitted design drawings will include plans for safety facility installation and vehicle flow, and traffic impact assessments and safety personnel operation plans will be added to proactively respond to pedestrian safety and surrounding traffic congestion.

Seoul will conduct regular inspections twice a year on drive-thru purchase locations to check whether installation standards are properly implemented and to strengthen safety management. In areas around drive-thrus where traffic violations occur continuously, enforcement and guidance will be expanded, including installing surveillance cameras. In places and times with heavy pedestrian traffic, safety personnel will be deployed, and business operators will be requested to actively carry out voluntary improvements.

Baek Ho, Director of Urban Transportation, said, “As non-face-to-face consumption has increased due to COVID-19 and drive-thru use has grown, we have established the nation’s first ‘Drive-Thru Purchase Location Safety Plan.’ We will actively encourage existing stores to comply with the safety plan and guide new stores to reflect related content when applying for road occupancy permits. Especially through public-private cooperation, we will do our best to secure pedestrian safety and proactively prevent traffic congestion factors around drive-thru purchase locations.”