Jaywalking Traffic Accidents Halved... "Effectiveness of Installing Median Barriers, etc."

Status of Pedestrian Traffic Accidents and Traffic Accidents While Crossing Outside Crosswalks from 2015 to 2020 / Provided by Korea Road Traffic Authority

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The Korea Road Traffic Authority announced on the 18th that the number of traffic accidents and fatalities involving pedestrians crossing lanes outside crosswalks has been decreasing.

Analyzing traffic accident statistics related to 'crossing outside crosswalks' (hereafter referred to as jaywalking) over six years from 2015 to 2020, the Authority found that the number of accidents in 2020 was 6,224, a 46.6% decrease compared to the previous five-year average of 11,658. The number of fatalities also dropped by 44.6%, from an annual average of 609 over the five years up to 2019 to 337 in 2020. The proportion of jaywalking accidents among all pedestrian traffic accidents also declined from the 30% range in 2015-2016 to 17% in 2020, the Authority reported.

The Authority attributed this trend to road environment improvement projects that installed facilities such as central dividers and pedestrian fences to prevent jaywalking. In fact, traffic accidents significantly decreased on roads where such facilities were installed through the 'Frequent Traffic Accident Site Improvement Project' conducted jointly with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

For example, after installing jaywalking prohibition and other traffic safety facilities in 2019 at the Samgakji intersection in Hangang 1-ga, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, the number of accidents over the following year dropped to half the average of the previous three years (from 16 to 8 cases). Similarly, on the road in front of Geunhwa Girls' High School in Yonggang-dong, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongbuk, the installation of a central divider and pedestrian fence in 2018 resulted in a 57.4% decrease in accidents (from 9.4 to 4 cases).

Yoo Tae-seon, Director of Policy Research at the Traffic Science Research Institute of the Korea Road Traffic Authority, said, "When pedestrians jaywalk on multi-lane roads with long crossing distances or near crosswalks, it is difficult for drivers to anticipate, which can lead to serious casualties. If safety facilities are expanded and pedestrian awareness is heightened, related accidents can be further reduced."