There have been a total of 75,594 traffic accidents on crosswalks during the past three years. (image: Pixabay)
SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Only 1 in 10 drivers stop and give way to pedestrians trying to cross a crosswalk without traffic lights, a recent report revealed.
The results were based on a survey conducted by the Korea Transportation Safety Authority (KOTSA) on the safety of pedestrians on four-lane roads in Cheongju and Daejeon on August 6 and 9.
A total of 80 pedestrians made an attempt to cross the street without traffic lights. However, only nine vehicles stopped for pedestrians, accounting for 11.3 percent.
For roads with a speed limit of 30 kilometers per hour, 20 percent of drivers yielded to pedestrians, compared to only 2.5 percent when the speed limit was 50 kilometers per hour.
The average amount of time waiting to cross was 23.3 seconds – 14 seconds on roads with a speed limit of 30 kilometers per hour, and 37.3 seconds when the speed limit was 50 kilometers per hour.
When pedestrians raised their hand to indicate their intention to cross on roads with a slower speed limit, 52.9 percent of vehicles slowed down in front of the crosswalk, and for those who did not gesture at all, 34.5 percent of vehicles slowed down.
There have been a total of 75,594 traffic accidents on crosswalks during the past three years, accounting for 60 percent of all vehicle-to-human fatalities, said KOTSA director Kwon Byung-yoon.
D. M. Park (dmpark@koreabizwire.com)
