Finally, pedestrian-centric road traffic rules

By Cho Hee-kyoung

A few years ago, my friend's young daughter was hit by a car as she was crossing a road near her primary school. Her right femur was shattered and several of her ribs were fractured. She had to be hospitalized for three months and had to endure multiple operations.

Even after being discharged, she was in a cast for several months and due to her young age, the doctors were not sure how her injuries would affect her physical development in the future. If lucky, she would make a complete recovery; but in a worst-case scenario, her right leg would be shorter than her left, leaving her with a permanent limp.

The car that had hit her had been traveling over 30 kilometers per hour in a school zone. It did not slow down or stop as it came closer to the marked crossing. But the driver was not prosecuted and ultimately judged as only partially liable for the accident because the collision happened a meter away from a marked crossing.

Astonishingly, the young girl was held to have contributed to the accident because she had failed to cross at the pedestrian crossing. The fact that there was an illegally parked car across the pedestrian crossing that prevented the little girl from walking onto the zebra crossing from the footpath and forced her to use an unmarked strip of the road did not matter at all.

The people who had broken the road traffic rules were adults who knew better. But the victim of their negligence and selfishness was a child who had to suffer needlessly.

Korea's road safety laws are notoriously lax. In 2017, the death rate of pedestrians in Korea was 3.3 per 100,000 population. This figure is more than three times the OECD average of 1.0 per 100,000. On average, three pedestrians die each day just walking on the streets. It is all too common a sight to see cars blithely ignoring traffic lights, speed limits and stop signs.

The golden rule that pedestrians have the right of way at marked and unmarked crossings simply does not apply here in Korea. I used to be shocked at cars that simply drove across my path as I stepped off the curb during a green light at a zebra crossing. Now, I am more surprised if a car comes to a complete stop to wait for a pedestrian before such a crossing.

All of this is no accident ― pardon the pun. In most other developed countries, the road traffic laws put first and foremost the safety of pedestrians. But for the Korean government, the priority lay in fostering the right environment to stimulate the growth of the automotive industry and the economy at large. This misplaced priority is most blatantly visible in the Traffic Accident Treatment Special Act ("the Special Law") that first came into force in 1982.

With some limited exceptions, the law exempts from criminal prosecution any offender who violates road traffic regulations as long as the person has comprehensive insurance coverage. For example, in July 2018, a driver hit and killed a pedestrian while traveling at 131km per hour in a 40km per hour zone.

Despite the death of the pedestrian and a clear violation of the road traffic law, the driver was not prosecuted thanks to the Special Law. In most other countries, the offending driver would have been charged with driving recklessly, causing death, and would have been prosecuted, found guilty and probably served a medium-term prison sentence.

It is the same reason why the driver's license test is really easy to pass in Korea. All of this is designed to make it as easy for people to obtain a driver's license, take out motor vehicle insurance, buy their own car and thereby contribute to the development of the motor vehicle industry. The safety of pedestrians has been a mere afterthought and did not even feature in government policies until well into the 1990s.

This situation is finally about to change. Earlier this year, there were some road regulations that were amended to make pedestrians safer. Vehicles had to come to a complete stop if there is a pedestrian crossing, before making a right turn, even if the light is red. Now, there are additional changes to the Road Traffic Act due to come into effect this month that will make our roads significantly more pedestrian-friendly.

New rules mean that the definition of a pedestrian will include Zimmerman frames, child play vehicles, hand push carts and bicycles being pushed rather than being ridden. At the same time, pedestrians will get the right of the way on streets where there are no separate sidewalks. Previously, pedestrians had to walk along the edge of the road minding their own safety.

But now, they will be able to walk in the middle of roads that have no separate vehicle lanes. If a car unreasonably passes a pedestrian or poses a danger to the pedestrian, there will be a fine of 40,000 won ($30.4) to 50,000 won depending on the vehicle. Additionally, safe zones for children and the elderly have been expanded and cars must stop before children's zones and proceed slowly even if there are no traffic lights.

It is a little shocking that these pedestrian-centric road rules are only now coming into force in Korea. But to look on the bright side, it is better late than never. Let's just hope that these new rules will be properly enforced and more importantly, that our driving culture will change accordingly.

Cho Hee-kyoung (hongikmail@gmail.com) is a professor at Hongik University College of Law.