Last Year Traffic Accident Deaths 2,916... Lowest in 2,000s Since Statistics Management Began

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Last year, the number of traffic accident fatalities dropped to the 2,000 range for the first time in 51 years since statistics management began in 1970.

According to the Korea Road Traffic Authority on the 27th, the number of traffic accident fatalities last year was 2,916, a 5.4% (165 people) decrease from 3,081 in 2020. This is the first time since the domestic traffic accident fatality count began in 1970 that the number has fallen below 3,000. The number of traffic accident fatalities peaked at 13,429 in 1991 after recording 3,069 in 1970, and has shown a decreasing trend every year since 2013. This trend contrasts with the increase in the number of registered vehicles in Korea, which rose from about 130,000 in 1970 to 24.9 million last year, an increase of about 190 times. The Authority analyzed that the decrease in traffic accidents is due to revisions to the Road Traffic Act, efforts by the government and related agencies on traffic safety facilities, and the improvement of public traffic safety awareness.

Looking at the status of traffic accident fatalities last year, pedestrians accounted for 1,018 deaths, a 6.9% (75 people) decrease compared to the previous year. Pedestrian fatalities have been on a declining trend for the past five years. Child pedestrian fatalities also decreased by 37.5%, from 16 in 2020 to 10 last year, and elderly pedestrian fatalities decreased by 4.3%, from 628 to 601. By time of day, the highest number of fatalities occurred during the evening rush hours from 6 to 8 p.m., and by month, October had the most fatalities. On weekdays, fatalities occurred on average 20.9% more than on weekends.

By driver age, elderly drivers aged 65 and over caused the highest number of fatalities (24.3%). Among the fatalities, elderly people accounted for 44.4%, nearly half of all deaths. By offending vehicle type, passenger cars accounted for the largest share at 46.2%, followed by freight trucks (23.6%) and motorcycles (15.7%). Fatalities from drunk driving accidents have shown a decreasing trend over the past 10 years. In particular, last year, due to the impact of social distancing and strengthened crackdowns, the number decreased by 28.2% (81 people) compared to the previous year. By road type, expressways (14.3%), provincial roads (12.8%), and city roads (7.2%) showed high fatality reduction rates in that order.

As traffic accident fatalities decrease, the number of deaths per 100,000 population and per 10,000 vehicles, which are international traffic safety comparison indicators, were analyzed to be 5.6 and 1.0 respectively, approaching the OECD average of 5.2 and 0.9. Ko Young-woo, head of the Traffic AI Big Data Convergence Center at the Korea Road Traffic Authority, said, "With the increase in traffic volume following the lifting of social distancing, the risk of traffic accidents is rising," and added, "To maintain the downward trend in fatalities, systematic traffic safety management and thorough compliance with laws by the public are necessary."