By Kim Rahn
All passengers in vehicles travelling on certain roads will be obliged to wear seat belts or the driver will face a 30,000 won ($27) fine.
The new rule will apply to roads where the speed limit is 90 kilometers per hour and the medial strip is more than 2 meters wide, on which motorcyclists are not allowed. There are about 120 of these “car-only roads” nationwide, including the Olympic Highway and Gangbyeon Highway.
The National Police Agency (NPA) said Sunday that the revised traffic rule will take effect on March 31 to make all people in cars buckle up on the designated roads.
Currently, safety belt regulations for all passengers only apply on express highways, such as the Gyeongbu (Seoul-Busan) Expressway. On other lower-speed roads, only the driver and the person in the front seat are obliged to wear seat belts.
According to the agency, 3,748 accidents took place on express highways in 2009 and claimed 397 lives, with about one person dying in 10 accidents on average. During the same period, 512 people died in 7,306 accidents on car-only roads, with the death rate reaching 7 percent, while the rate on other roads was 2.2 percent.
“Despite the high death rate on car-only highways, we have forced only the driver and the person on the front seat to fasten their seat belts. The new rule is expected to reduce casualties,” an NPA official said.
The 30,000 won of fine will be imposed if the driver or fellow passengers are not buckled up on the specified highways. On other roads, those in back seats who do not buckle up are not subject to the fine.