50 Right-Turn Traffic Accidents in Jeju During the Revised Road Traffic Act Guidance Period

A right-turning vehicle is stopped on the road near Seoul Station. Photo by Mun Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] During the three-month guidance period for the revised Road Traffic Act, which strengthened the obligation to protect pedestrians, 50 right-turn traffic accidents occurred in Jeju alone.

The Jeju Police Agency announced that from July 12, when the revised Road Traffic Act was implemented, until the day before, there were this many traffic accidents caused by violations of the pedestrian protection obligation over the three-month period. This is a similar figure to the 49 cases during the same period last year. During the same period, there was one death each in last year and this year, and the number of injuries increased from 49 to 51.

The revised Road Traffic Act requires drivers to stop not only when pedestrians are "crossing" the crosswalk but also when they are "about to cross." If a driver proceeds without stopping despite the presence of a pedestrian crossing or intending to cross the crosswalk, a fine of 60,000 KRW (for passenger cars) and 10 penalty points will be imposed on the driver.

The police, responding to criticism that it is difficult to clearly recognize when a pedestrian is about to cross during the guidance period, decided to enforce regulations only when the pedestrian's behavior and intention to cross the crosswalk can be clearly confirmed from the outside and is universally understandable. Additionally, to increase public understanding of the revised law, the police plan to continuously promote and educate the correct crossing methods through public service advertisements and other promotional means.

On the same day, from 2 PM to 4 PM, the Jeju Police Agency conducted crackdowns on violations of pedestrian protection obligations in Nohyeong-dong and Ido-dong, Jeju City, and caught a total of 11 cases.