Truck Rushes Toward Residents Waiting to Vote
"Drivers Should Develop the Habit of Stopping Rather Than Going"
On the 8th, the day of the 3rd Nationwide Simultaneous Cooperative Head Election, a truck driven by a man in his 70s, identified as Mr. A, ran into a crowd at the parking lot of Gurim Nonghyup in Sunchang-gun, Jeonbuk, resulting in four deaths and dozens of casualties. It was determined that the driver, Mr. A, confused the brake and accelerator pedals, causing the accident.
Accidents caused by confusing the brake and accelerator pedals occur repeatedly. While there are calls to manage the licenses of elderly drivers, experts explain that driving habits are also important.
The accident occurred around 10:30 a.m. at the entrance of the Gurim Nonghyup cooperative head polling station. The cargo truck driven by Mr. A struck people lined up outside the building waiting to vote.
At around 10:30 a.m. on the 8th, a 1-ton truck crashed into a crowd waiting to vote for the cooperative head in the parking lot of a Nonghyup in Gurim-myeon, Sunchang-gun, Jeonbuk. [Image source=Yonhap News]
As a result of this accident, four people died and sixteen were injured. Most of the casualties were elderly people in their 60s to 80s. Mr. A reportedly told the police, "I was loading fertilizer and tried to step on the brake but mistakenly pressed the accelerator."
Similar accidents have occurred recently. In October last year, at a national highway rest area in Byeonggok-myeon, Yeongdeok-gun, Gyeongbuk, a vehicle driven by a man in his 80s hit pedestrians, causing three people to suffer serious injuries. Notably, one of them sustained a severe injury resulting in leg amputation. This accident was also caused by the driver confusing the accelerator for the brake due to inexperience.
Accidents caused by pedal confusion happen frequently. Especially since many of the drivers involved are elderly, there is increasing demand to restrict elderly driving.
Accidents involving elderly drivers are particularly dangerous not only because they occur more frequently but also because the scale of the accidents can be larger. Due to decreased cognitive and response abilities, elderly drivers are more likely to cause traffic accidents and are less able to respond quickly compared to younger drivers.
However, drivers who cause accidents by confusing the accelerator and brake pedals are not necessarily elderly. In October last year, in an apartment complex in Changwon-si, Gyeongnam, a driver in his 50s caused the death of a man in his 60s who was hit by an SUV. The driver reportedly tried to stop after colliding with a handcart the man was pulling but panicked and pressed the accelerator.
Experts point out that mistakes involving pedal confusion should be carefully avoided by drivers of all ages, not just elderly drivers. Professor Choi Jaewon of the Korea Road Traffic Authority emphasized, "Driving habits are important. When driving, stopping is more important than moving forward, and from the time you learn to drive, you should develop the habit of pressing the brake."
Regarding accidents involving elderly drivers, he said, "Some states in Germany and the United States restrict elderly drivers from driving on highways at night. Japan also only allows vehicles equipped with emergency braking systems that activate when people or objects are detected. Our country needs to actively adopt such systems as well."
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