Police to check SNS messages for prompt response to traffic accidents

By Kim Se-jeong

The National Police Agency (NPA) said Thursday it will check messages posted by Twitter and Facebook users to respond to traffic accidents more quickly.

“We are working to develop a new system that will collect information about traffic accidents from social networking users,” an NPA official, surnamed Ji, said, adding that the new system will be in place as early as in the second half of this year.

Policemen can be dispatched to the site if accidents are serious, and the police agency will tweet back that information through its Twitter account (@poltraffic).

The plan is part of the police agency’s annual traffic safety plan to maintain public safety and reduce traffic accidents and road deaths.

According to the police agency, 4,762 people were killed in car accidents last year. In 2012, 5,392 were killed.

Currently, traffic information is collected through surveillance cameras, policemen and citizens’ calls. The NPA distributes the collected information to the public via portal websites Naver or Daum, media outlets and a police agency’s Twitter account.

Ji also said that smartphone users will be able to report accidents to the police through an app. The police will develop the app this year, which will be used for all sorts of accidents, not just car accidents.

The traffic safety plan laid out other measures to improve public safety.

Police’s traffic regulations will be tougher on Mondays and Fridays. Policemen will be allowed to use video cameras on those days to catch drivers who break traffic rules. Right now, the cameras are used but only in big metropolitan cities.

The police agency will also bolster safety education for pedestrians, especially the elderly and children. The study found the two groups are among the most vulnerable to car accidents.

Police will offer road safety workshops for the elderly and school children and will encourage old drivers to examine their driving abilities. School zones will have more surveillance cameras and policemen and school buses will face tighter safety regulations. The police will also put safety installations in spots where pedestrians are killed frequently and monitor jaywalkers more strictly.