Elementary Student Fatally Struck in School Zone Sparking Debate Over Yellow Flashing Lights

[Anchor]

Yesterday (October 15), an elementary school student crossing a pedestrian crosswalk in a school zone in Miryang, Gyeongsangnam-do, was struck and killed by a turning SUV. At the time of the accident, a yellow flashing traffic light was operating at the intersection.

Choi Hyuk-gyu from KNN reports.

[Reporter]

Children lay flowers in front of the crosswalk.

Overcome with grief from losing a friend, they find it hard to leave the scene.

At around 4:00 PM yesterday, a second-grade male elementary school student was struck and killed by an SUV driven by a driver in their 70s at this location.

The victim was hit by the SUV making a right turn at a three-way intersection while attempting to use the crosswalk.

At the scene, pedestrian traffic lights were not operational, and only yellow flashing lights for vehicles were in use.

[Witness: The speed limit here is 30 km/h, so vehicles don't usually speed that much. In the dozen or so years I've run my business here, this is the first time I've ever seen an accident like this.]

While yellow flashing signals normally allow drivers to proceed with caution while looking around, they must come to a complete stop if there are pedestrians crossing or intending to cross.

However, many drivers are unaware of these regulations.

[Kim Jung-rim / Professor, Korea Road Traffic Authority: When a yellow flashing signal is on, the obligation to make a complete stop when making a right turn remains exactly the same. However, there are many cases where drivers are unaware of this part....]

Due to these risks, the Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to convert all pedestrian crossing signals in school zones to red, which carries a mandatory complete stop obligation, within this year.

With approximately 2,800 locations still operating with flashing signals in Busan and Gyeongsangnam-do, critics point out that signal operations must be improved starting with school zones.

(Video Journalist: Park Young-jun / KNN)

Choi Hyuk-gyu / KNN
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.