Reasons for Proposal
In October last year, a child was hit and killed by a car that rushed forward while the child was crossing a crosswalk located inside an apartment complex in Daejeon. Although the accident occurred on a crosswalk, it was not possible to administer punishment for the accident as one of the ‘12 major types of gross negligence' due to the fact that the area concerned is private property within an apartment complex and is not a ‘road’ under the Road Traffic Act. A Cheongwadae petition to address this issue has gained over 200,000 signatures.
According to statistics from Korea Insurance Development Institute, there were 660,000 traffic accidents in 2017 that occurred in apartment complexes, parking lots, schools, and other areas that are not considered roads under the Road Traffic Act, of which 11,000 cases were pedestrian accidents. Apartment complexes have become larger in recent years, resulting in an increased movement of vehicles and consequently incidents have also become more frequent. Thus, there is an urgent need to prepare institutional measures to prevent accidents in non-road areas.
Accordingly, the Amendment introduces an obligation for drivers to protect pedestrians in apartment complexes, parking lots, schools, and other non-road areas; obligates drivers to slow down or stop upon discovering a pedestrian; and stipulates that any accident resulting from non-compliance therewith shall be subject to the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Settlement of Traffic Accidents; thereby promoting the safety of pedestrians moving in non-road areas (Article 2, subparagraph 26; Article 27, paragraph 6; Article 28-2; and Article 156).
Major Provisions
Drivers of all motor vehicles shall slow down and maintain a safe distance when passing by any pedestrian in a non-road area and shall slow down or stop to enable pedestrians to move safely when pedestrain movement is impeded (Article 27).
Drivers of cars and riders of horses moving along a pedestrian priority road shall slow down and maintain a safe distance when passing by any pedestrian and shall slow down or stop to enable pedestrians to move safely when pedestrian movement is impeded (Article 28-2).
