Traffic Deaths Decline

Published on 2019/10/20 | Source

The number of traffic deaths has decreased significantly this year thanks to tougher penalties on drunk drivers and speed limits in urban areas.

The number of deaths in traffic accidents stood at 2,402 during the January-September period, down 13.8 percent on-year, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Wednesday.

The number of deaths involving drunk drivers declined drastically by 35.8 percent to 172. Some 93,607 drunk drivers were caught by police, down 25.3 percent over the same period.

The government tightened penalties for drunk driving last December and lowered the legal blood alcohol limit from 0.05 percent to 0.03 percent in June this year.

The number of pedestrian deaths dropped 15 percent from 1,057 to 898, most significantly in Ulsan at 45.3 percent, followed by Gwangju (32.1 percent) and Seoul (21.8 percent).