The new guidelines focus on the improvement of road design for elderly drivers and pedestrians. (image: DB Insurance Co.)
SEOUL, Dec. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — The South Korean government has launched an initiative to make the roads safer for elderly people.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on Wednesday that it had fully amended the road design guidelines for the elderly people as part of efforts to prevent elderly traffic accidents.
The guidelines focus on the improvement of road design for elderly drivers and pedestrians.
The new guidelines recommend the installation of separate left-turn lanes that would make it easier for elderly drivers to be aware of the vehicles coming from the opposite direction when they turn left at an intersection.
To help elderly drivers to better cope with unexpected situations at intersections, the guidelines recommend that the response time to detect intersections in advance should be set at 10 seconds.
The guidelines also include a provision on the installation of a variety of road facilities for elderly pedestrians.
In particular, they recommend the installation of a central pedestrian island for wide roads with more than six lanes, given the slow walking speed of elderly pedestrians.
The standards also recommend the installation of convenient facilities such as stand-by shelters at crosswalks where elderly pedestrians can take rest when crossing the street, and floor-type traffic lights that allow elderly people to easily check the signal without having to strain their backs.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
