With the establishment of ‘Rest Areas for Drowsiness’ on highways and national routes, the death toll from traffic accidents has dropped by more than 50 percent. (Image : Yonhap)
SEJONG, Jan.8 (Korea Bizwire) – With the establishment of ‘Rest Areas for Drowsiness’ on highways and national routes, the death toll from traffic accidents has dropped by more than 50 percent.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that the number of accidents that occurred between service areas decreased by 28 percent in 2015 (115 cases) compared to the 161 cases in 2010. The number of deaths also decreased 55 percent from 40 people in 2010 to 18 people.
Accidents thought to be caused by drowsiness were the standard for the statistics.
The ministry also revealed that the number of vehicles that use the rest area increased 46.5 percent from 116 in 2014 (79 cars, 37 trucks), to 170 in 2015 (112 cars, 58 trucks).
In addition, the results of a survey conducted on 543 drivers by the Korea Expressway Corporation in 2014 showed that 93.1 percent of the respondents (505 people) answered that the rest areas were ‘very helpful’ or ‘helpful’.
The Rest Areas for Drowsiness have been established at since 2011. The data in 2014 indicated that 194 rest areas had been built by expressways, and 18 were made by national routes.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to add 24 rest areas (14 on expressways, 10 on national routes) this year, and expand the numbers to 270 by 2017. It also plans to increase bathrooms and safety facilities.
By M.H.Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
