60% of Highway Traffic Accidents Caused by Cell Phones
Annual Increase in Cell Phone Use While Driving Detected
A result showed that more than 60% of traffic accidents occurring on highways during the summer vacation season were caused by 'using a mobile phone while driving.'
On the 16th, the Korea Road Traffic Authority analyzed the causes of 896 highway traffic accidents that occurred during last summer vacation season (July to August) and confirmed that 61.4% were due to failure to fulfill safety obligations such as using a mobile phone while driving. In particular, as the number of vehicles equipped with semi-autonomous driving functions has increased recently, many cases were observed where drivers did not pay attention to the front while watching videos or sending text messages during highway driving.
Using a mobile phone while driving is prohibited under Article 49 of the Road Traffic Act. According to the law, drivers must not use mobile phones while driving, nor receive, play, or operate any video content other than geographic guidance and disaster situation videos that can be viewed by the driver. Violators are subject to 15 penalty points and fines of 70,000 KRW for vans and 60,000 KRW for passenger cars.
The reason why using a mobile phone while driving is particularly dangerous is that it interferes with the driver's attention to the front, increasing the likelihood of a serious accident. However, the problem is that the use of mobile phones while driving has been steadily increasing every year. According to the statistics from the Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency on the same day, the number of cases caught by the police in this region over the past four years was 3,050 in 2021, 3,262 in 2022, and 4,049 in 2023. This year, from January to last month, 2,391 cases occurred, showing a similar level to previous years. Enforcement mainly occurs when police officers witness drivers using mobile phones during traffic control or while stationed at checkpoints. Cases caught include holding a mobile phone in one hand to make calls or playing videos within the driver's field of vision.
There were also cases of fatal accidents caused by neglecting to watch the front. On December 4 last year, in Jangam-dong, Uijeongbu-si, a 60-year-old bus driver A, who was watching a mobile phone while driving, hit a mother and daughter crossing the crosswalk, killing the mother in her 50s. In October of the same year, a 50-year-old express bus driver B driving on the Dangjin-Yeongdeok Expressway in Boeun-gun, Chungbuk, collided with a 15-passenger van ahead while checking text messages on his mobile phone, causing the deaths of four people.
A police official said, "Using a mobile phone while driving makes it difficult to properly watch the front, narrows the field of vision, and delays the recognition of surrounding situations," adding, "Therefore, caution is necessary as there is a higher possibility of causing accidents by failing to notice pedestrians or other vehicles."
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