This file photo shows a driver using his smartphone. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — Despite progress in promoting safe driving habits, a significant portion of the South Korean population still use smartphones while driving or walking through crosswalks, a government data showed Thursday.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, last year’s traffic culture index reached 81.18 points, an increase of 0.31 points from the previous year.
The index is an assessment based on driving and pedestrian behavior, and traffic safety data from 229 cities, counties, and districts nationwide.
The data showed that 81.4 percent of drivers stopped before the stop lines in front of crosswalks, a decrease from 81.8 percent in 2021, while a decline was also observed in the percentage of people wearing seat belts in all seats, from 84.9 percent to 83 percent.
The share of pedestrians using a smartphone while crossing a crosswalk jumped from 14.2 percent in 2021 to 14.3 percent last year.
The ministry said that while overall driving and pedestrian practices have improved in the last five years, seat belt practices are still inconsistent.
The share of drivers using smart devices dropped from 35.9 percent in 2020 to 41.77 percent last year, which was still 4 people in 10 drivers.
Stronger crackdowns on traffic violations have boosted the rate of motorcycle drivers wearing helmets from 92.8 percent in 2021 to 93.9 percent last year.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
