The number of school zones to undergo road safety improvements will be increased by more than 50 percent next year from this year’s 351 zones. (image: Gyeongnam Provincial Office of Education)
SEOUL, Nov. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — The government and the ruling Democratic Party agreed at a bilateral meeting Tuesday to significantly increase next year’s budget for children’s road safety.
The government’s budget for the installation of speed cameras and traffic lights in school zones nationwide, for instance, will be increased by 100 billion won (US$85.2 million) in 2020, according to Cho Jung-sik, chief policymaker of the ruling party.
“About 8,800 speed cameras and 11,260 traffic lights will be installed in school zones across the country, as part of efforts to enhance the traffic safety of children,” Cho told reporters after the bilateral meeting at the National Assembly.
“In areas where the installation of speed cameras is inappropriate, speed bumps and other road safety facilities will be expanded,” he explained.
The number of school zones to undergo road safety improvements will be increased by more than 50 percent next year from this year’s 351 zones, Cho said, noting safety signs, speed bumps, non-slip pavement, “yellow carpet” and other road safety facilities will be persistently installed there.
Yellow carpet refers to using yellow paint to visually alert drivers of areas where they need to drive more carefully and pay attention.
He said the government and the ruling party will also make efforts for the speedy parliamentary passage of various bills intended to protect children from traffic accidents.
For example, they will push to strengthen pedestrian protection legislation by obliging vehicles to stop and slow down at crosswalks without traffic lights.
The authorities will also intensively crack down on illegal parking and stopping, as well as violators of children’s road safety rules, and strengthen the supervision of school commuter bus drivers and operators.
The latest move by the government and the ruling party came after President Moon Jae-in promised to heighten school zone safety after hearing a complaint at last week’s town hall meeting from the parents of a 9-year-old boy who died after being hit by a car within a school zone in Asan, central South Korea, last September.
(Yonhap)
