Roadkill causes car accidents

By Isaac Kim

Car accidents are reoccurring on national highways near Ulsan because there are no sanitation workers to remove dead animals, or “roadkil,” reported the Hankook Ilbo.

According to officials from five Ulsan areas on July 14, there are over 20 monthly cases of wild animals such as elk, boars and badgers that are hit and killed by automobiles.

Environmental cleaners from each region and area pick up the carcasses, throw them in a trash bag, and incinerate them.

However, once the cleaners leave work, there is not a single sanitation worker to remove roadkills at night.

The blame lies with the local government, fire departments, and construction management administrations trying to push the responsibility on one another.

Local governments reason that they have no funds to pay for night-time personnel.

When the Ulsan Fire Department was confronted by a caller about a roadkill, the department referred the caller to the environment maintenance division of the local government.

The Busan Regional Construction Management Administration, which manages five highways in the Ulsan area, claims Ulsan is too far to send their limited personnel.

The call center for roadkills in Ulsan (phone number: 112) merely makes empty gestures with little to no action.

The phone number connects to an ARS (audio response system) which connects the caller to the local government.

Dead animals lying on the highway has been known to be repulsing, cause accidents, and negatively influence the health of citizens

Park Soon Hwan, an official from the Ulsan City Council, has been removing roadkill for over 30 years.

“I’ve witnessed many accounts where cars got into accidents trying to avoid roadkills,” said Park. “To prevent further accidents, I always keep a shovel, gloves, and trash bags in my car trunk.”