Police to conduct year-end intensive enforcement

191 killed on highways from January to October

Deaths up 27% from same period last year

Trucks wait at the Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province. [Yonhap]
Trucks wait at the Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province. [Yonhap]

Police are launching a month-long crackdown on highway traffic violations following a string of fatal accidents on expressways.

The Korean National Police Agency announced Tuesday that it will conduct an "intensive crackdown on highway accident-causing factors" from Wednesday through Dec. 10 to prevent year-end highway accidents and reduce fatalities.

According to the agency, 29 people died in highway traffic accidents in October alone, up 81 percent from the same month last year. The cumulative death toll from January through October stands at 191, up 27 percent from the same period last year. Of those, 93 deaths — about half the total — involved truck accidents.

During the crackdown period, highway patrol units at each provincial and metropolitan police agency plan to deploy additional unmarked patrol vehicles, concentrating them on accident-prone time slots and routes.

Police will step up enforcement against trucks for speeding, failure to maintain safe following distances and lane violations. Trucks caught coasting downhill in neutral gear while exceeding the speed limit will be detected using onboard enforcement equipment and camcorders. Trucks that fail to keep a safe distance or violate designated lanes in high-risk sections such as tunnels and interchanges will be documented and guided to rest stops or other safe locations for on-the-spot enforcement.

"The number of tragic fatal highway accidents has been surging recently," a police agency official said, urging drivers to review their traffic safety practices and join voluntary accident-prevention efforts "so that all of us can use the highway safely."


arin@heraldcorp.com