Reversing vehicles account for 14% of all pedestrian traffic accidents in South Korea. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — Reversing vehicles account for 14% of all pedestrian traffic accidents in South Korea, according to a new study that highlights the need for a greater adoption of advanced safety features.
The Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance Traffic Safety Research Institute analyzed traffic accident data from 2019 to 2023, revealing that reversing vehicles were responsible for 7.1% of vehicle-to-vehicle collisions and 14.3% of vehicle-to-pedestrian accidents.
The study’s findings are particularly concerning for elderly pedestrians and accidents involving larger vehicles. Of the 50 fatalities recorded in reverse-driving accidents, 43 victims (86%) were aged 65 or older. Commercial vehicles and vans were involved in 39 deaths, accounting for 78% of all reverse-driving fatalities.
The research demonstrates the effectiveness of reverse accident prevention systems. Vehicles equipped with advanced safety features for vehicle-to-vehicle collision prevention experienced 70.3 accidents per 10,000 vehicles, compared to 81.05 accidents for vehicles without such systems. For pedestrian safety features, the difference was even more pronounced: equipped vehicles recorded 2.6 pedestrian accidents per 10,000 vehicles, while unequipped vehicles averaged 4.8 accidents.
Despite these safety benefits, the adoption rate of such technology remains low. Among domestic passenger vehicles insured by Samsung Fire & Marine, only 10.9% (approximately 420,000 vehicles) are equipped with vehicle collision prevention systems, and just 2.4% (about 94,000 vehicles) have pedestrian detection systems. More notably, none of the commercial vehicles or vans in the study were equipped with these advanced safety features.
“Legislative and institutional improvements are necessary to expand the adoption of reverse accident prevention systems,” said Kim Seung-ki, a senior researcher at the institute. “This includes mandating installation on high-risk vehicles and incorporating these safety features into vehicle safety assessment criteria.”
The study analyzed accident data from domestically manufactured vehicles insured by Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance over the five-year period.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
