People walk across an intersection in Seoul on March 24, 2020. (Yonhap)
SUWON, July 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean police have lengthened the green pedestrian signal time at crosswalks, resulting in a slight decline in the number of elderly pedestrian accidents.
The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency extended the green signal time at 865 crosswalks located within Gyeonggi Province for about two months starting from February 2019 as part of efforts to ensure elderly pedestrians can cross the street more safely.
After the signal time was lengthened, the number of elderly pedestrian accidents occurring at crosswalks during the period from April 6, 2019 to April 5, 2020 stood at 416, about 2.2 percent (nine cases) lower than one year prior (from April 6, 2018 to April 5, 2019).
The number of pedestrian fatalities at crosswalks resulting from traffic accidents fell by 14.3 percent from 28 to 24 over the same period, while the number of pedestrian injuries declined by 0.8 percent from 381 to 378.
“Since elderly people walk slowly, there have been many cases where they cannot finish crossing the road by the time the traffic signal turns to red,” the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said.
“As such, elderly pedestrians are often forced to stand in the middle of the road or cross the road regardless of the traffic signal. To prevent the risk of traffic accidents for elderly pedestrians, we needed to extend the pedestrian green signal time.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
