[Report] 'Life-Threatening Motorcycles' 32 Violations Caught in 2 Hours over 1km Section

Joint Motorcycle Crackdown by Gwanak, Geumcheon, and Guro Police Stations on the 23rd
32 Traffic Violations in 2 Hours... Signal Violations Most Frequent
Only Rear License Plates Make Enforcement Challenging

"I usually don't make U-turns, but the delivery was urgent... I'm sorry."

At 2:06 PM on the 23rd, a man in his 60s making an illegal U-turn at the Digital Complex Entrance intersection in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, was caught by police motorcycle traffic enforcement and said this. The delivery worker driver muttered, "I had to make the U-turn further away." He was penalized with 15 demerit points and a fine of 40,000 won for violating Article 5 of the Road Traffic Act. Earlier, around 1:48 PM, another delivery worker in his 60s was caught by police for running a red light. He was also given the same demerit points and fine.

On the afternoon of the 24th at 2 PM, a driver caught in a joint motorcycle crackdown by the Seoul Gwanak, Geumcheon, and Guro Police Stations in the Gwanak-gu area of Seoul is listening to the police's notice of fines and penalties.
Photo by Seoyul Hwang chestnut@

The Seoul Gwanak, Geumcheon, and Guro Police Stations conducted a joint crackdown from 2 PM to 4 PM that day to prevent motorcycle traffic accidents. The enforcement took place over about a 1 km section from Munseong Elementary School to Guro Digital Complex Station, including Nangok Intersection. The operation involved 9 patrol cars, 2 sidecars, and 50 personnel, focusing on violations such as running red lights, crossing the center line, not wearing helmets, riding on sidewalks, and riding on crosswalks. During the two-hour period, 32 traffic violations were recorded, with running red lights being the most frequent at 15 cases. Next were failure to wear protective gear (12 cases), cutting in (2 cases), intersection traffic method violations (2 cases), and crossing the center line (1 case).

In particular, running red lights is a representative case of illegal and reckless motorcycle driving. On Jowon Jungang-ro, when police informed a driver in his 40s who did not stop at the stop line on a red light of 15 demerit points and a 40,000 won fine, the driver argued, saying, "I moved on the yellow light." The officer said, "There is a black box on the helmet, so the video should be saved," and added, "You can check it and file an objection within 10 days."

According to a survey conducted by the Korea Transportation Safety Authority Seoul Headquarters in September 2021 over two days at 16 intersections on side streets in Seoul, out of 7,253 motorcycles observed, 52.8% (3,833 motorcycles) violated traffic laws 4,457 times. It was also found that each motorcycle violated traffic laws 1.2 times on average, indicating that half of motorcycle drivers habitually break traffic rules. Among these, running red lights accounted for the highest at 48.8% (2,173 cases), followed by stop line violations at 28.0% (1,249 cases), and sidewalk encroachment at 11.2% (498 cases).

Violations of motorcycle traffic laws can have fatal consequences. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, from the 1st to the 10th of this month, the number of two-wheeler traffic accidents decreased by 37 compared to the previous year, but the number of deaths sharply increased from 2 to 8.

Although the situation regarding two-wheeler traffic law violations is serious, improving it is not easy due to a shortage of enforcement personnel.

On the afternoon of the 24th, a police officer is recording with a camcorder to capture the rear license plate of a motorcycle at Nangok Intersection in Gwanak-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hwang Seoyul chestnut@

There is a call to mandate the installation of front license plates on motorcycles to encourage lawful riding. Motorcycles only have rear license plates, making enforcement by unmanned cameras impossible.

In a 'Two-Wheeler Traffic Safety Public Survey and Operation Status Investigation' conducted by the Citizens' Coalition for Safety and the General Insurance Association, 91.8% of respondents supported mandatory front license plates on motorcycles. Additionally, 83.9% of respondents said, "Motorcycle license plates are usually hard to see."

President Yoon Suk-yeol also pledged during the presidential election to gradually introduce front license plates on delivery motorcycles. However, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is lukewarm about introducing front license plates, citing difficulties in securing mounting locations and increased pedestrian injuries in collisions. The National Police Agency announced plans to introduce 'rear unmanned traffic enforcement equipment' to improve enforcement efficiency. They plan to install rear traffic enforcement equipment at 25 locations across five metropolitan police agencies nationwide (Seoul, Busan, Southern Gyeonggi, Gyeongnam, and Gyeongbuk) by analyzing areas with frequent two-wheeler traffic accidents.