SK Gas, Korea Transportation Safety Authority, and Road Traffic Authority Establish 'Safe Stops' for Children's School Buses

Photo of the Safe Bus Stop for Children Commuting installed by SK Gas, Korea Transportation Safety Authority, and Road Traffic Authority. Photo by SK Gas

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] SK Gas Co., Ltd., Korea Transportation Safety Authority, and Road Traffic Authority will once again create safe bus stops for children’s school buses this year, following last year’s initiative.

SK Gas announced on the 26th that it held a business agreement ceremony in April with the Korea Transportation Safety Authority and the Road Traffic Authority to promote an eco-friendly road environment and a children’s traffic safety campaign. As part of this campaign, dedicated safe bus stops for children’s school buses were installed in 10 apartment complexes, creating boarding and alighting spaces where both drivers and children can feel safe. This brings the total number of apartment complexes with safe bus stops to 15, adding 10 this year to the 5 installed last year.

The apartment complexes where safe bus stops were installed were selected after promoting the children’s school bus stop creation campaign through the housing departments of Seoul’s autonomous districts, receiving participation applications, and conducting on-site inspections. Ultimately, 10 apartment complexes were selected: 8 in Seoul, 1 in Gwangju, and 1 in Wonju.

Priority was given to complexes over 10 years old and with more than 1,000 households, but apartment complexes that did not meet these conditions but were deemed necessary for children’s safety were also included in the selection.

This criterion follows Article 57-3 of the Road Traffic Act (Traffic Safety within Complex Roads), which checks the installation of children’s school bus stops during ‘apartment complex safety inspections’ (Article 26, Paragraph 4 of the Housing Construction Standards, etc.). However, apartments built before the revision of related regulations are not obligated to install such stops, leaving children’s safety vulnerable. To address this, a self-selection standard was established.

According to the Road Traffic Authority, half of the pedestrian casualties among elementary school students occurred between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. This suggests that accidents are concentrated during children’s dismissal from school and academy commuting times. Approximately 70% of elementary school pedestrian casualties occurred while crossing roads, indicating many crossing accidents happen immediately after children alight from school buses.

Therefore, the significance of installing safe bus stops (Article 51 of the Road Traffic Act, Special Protection for Children’s School Buses) lies in ‘driver stop’ and ‘children stop’?waiting until the children’s school bus moves after alighting. If both are implemented, it is expected to protect the safety of both drivers and children from potentially serious traffic accidents involving children.

Additionally, since April 3, 2023, the registration of diesel-powered children’s school buses has been restricted under Article 28 of the Special Act on Air Quality Improvement in Air Management Zones (Restrictions on the Use of Diesel Vehicles for Specific Purposes). Thus, the transition to eco-friendly LPG children’s school buses has become a key measure to reduce fine dust and protect children’s health.

SK Gas, Korea Transportation Safety Authority, and Road Traffic Authority, who planned this campaign, expect the creation of safe bus stops within apartment complexes to have a high effect on preventing children’s traffic accidents and improving driver awareness. They plan to gradually expand the campaign nationwide.

Park Chan-il, Head of Eco Energy Division at SK Gas, said, "SK Gas announced an ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) master plan to strengthen ESG management and established a plan to pursue coexistence with stakeholders through social responsibility in the social sector. As a company supplying eco-friendly LPG fuel for children’s school buses, SK Gas feels a responsibility to consider not only driver and children’s safety but also a clean road environment. We will continue efforts to create a healthy and safe environment for children’s commuting."

Kwon Yong-bok, Chairman of the Korea Transportation Safety Authority, emphasized, "We hope that the installation of safe bus stops for children’s school buses within apartment complexes will create a safe commuting route for children, parents, and drivers alike. We ask apartment residents to actively use the stops so that children receive traffic safety education and a safe traffic environment is established within the complexes."

Lee Joo-min, Chairman of the Road Traffic Authority, said, "Beyond the existing theoretical safety education for drivers of children’s school buses, we expect that installing safe bus stops where parents and children can feel secure will contribute to creating safe commuting routes for children and support traffic safety."