The Busan Metropolitan Government, which has been stigmatized as the “worst transportation city in the country” due to frequent traffic accidents due to poor traffic conditions, is starting to reduce traffic accidents in earnest.
The Busan Metropolitan Government announced on the 17th that it will invest 13.5 billion won this year to improve the road and transportation system to prevent recurrence of traffic accidents and protect the vulnerable.
Since 2002, the city has been conducting monitoring and improvement projects for places where traffic accidents occur frequently or road structures need to be improved, but the occurrence of traffic accidents has rarely decreased.
A total of 61,050 traffic accidents occurred in Busan over the past five years from 2017 to last year, killing 666 people and injuring 84,443.
By year, △19,966 cases in 2017, 173 deaths, 16,579 injuries △12,161 deaths in 2018, 169,25 injuries △12,250 deaths in 2019, 1,87 deaths, 18,357 injuries △12,091 injuries in 2020, 1,26421 injuries △1,621. It is fortunate that the number of traffic accidents, deaths and injuries has been decreasing since 2019.
Among them, 15 places, including Daeyeong-ro, Seo-gu, Jwacheon Intersection, Dong-gu, and Bansong-ro, Haeundae-gu, from Seodaemun Intersection to Daeshin Intersection in Seo-gu, are the most frequent traffic accidents in Busan.
A total of 162 traffic accidents occurred in Daeyeong-ro, Seo-gu, between 2016 and 2018, killing one person and injuring 86 people, while 32 and 24 people were injured in 55 and 43 traffic accidents, respectively, at Jwacheon Intersection in Dong-gu and Bansong-ro in Haeundae-gu.
From 2002 to last year, the city invested 31.3 billion won in traffic accident areas and 10.2 billion won in installation of rotary intersections, and last year alone, 11.4 billion won was invested to create a smooth traffic communication and safety environment for roads in the city.
Typically, 15 locations, including the three-way intersection in front of Jurye Girls’ Middle School in Sasang-gu and the intersection in front of Gijang Fire Station in Gijang-gun, saw a 21.6% decrease in the number of traffic accidents from 169.7 to 133.
This year, it will invest 13.5 billion won, an increase of 2.1 billion won from last year, to promote road and transportation system improvement projects. To prevent frequent traffic accidents, 8.5 billion won will be invested to improve 15 traffic accident areas, including Daecheong Intersection in Jung-gu and Gudeok Intersection in Seo-gu, and three rotating intersections, including Waseok Underpass in Buk-gu and Sanghyeon Village in Geumjeong-gu.
In addition, 4 billion won will be invested to improve the problems of seven transportation systems, including Haeundae-ro and Baekyang-daero areas, Gupyeong-dong, Saha-gu, and Uam Elementary School in Nam-gu.
In particular, in order to reduce traffic accidents at crosswalks for the elderly, traffic accident prevention facilities including floodpliers (device that reflects light) will be installed at 357 locations, including Dongdaesa Street and Baekyang-daero in Seo-gu.
As a result, results are appearing little by little. As a result of analyzing traffic accident data in Busan from 2016 to 2018, the number of traffic accidents in multiple traffic accident areas is on the decline. The number of deaths decreased from 173 in 2017 to 115 last year, and the number of injured people also decreased by 661 from 16,579 to 15,918.
Busan Mayor Park Hyung-joon stressed, “To reduce traffic accidents, we will do our best to prevent recurrence of traffic accidents, resolve risks, and protect the vulnerable by investing 2.1 billion won more than last year.”
Meanwhile, the Busan Metropolitan Government plans to continue to encourage the nation’s first driver’s license return system to prevent traffic accidents and ensure pedestrian safety from 2018, while providing children’s traffic safety education from time to time.