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

[Anchor]

Yesterday (October 15), an elementary school student crossing a pedestrian crosswalk in a school zone in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, was struck and killed by a turning SUV. At the time of the accident, the intersection was operating with yellow flashing traffic lights.

Reporter Choi Hyuk-gyu from KNN.

[Reporter]

Children lay flowers in front of the crosswalk.

Overcome with the grief of losing a friend, they cannot easily pull themselves away.

Around 4:00 PM yesterday, a second-grade elementary school boy was struck and killed here by an SUV driven by a driver in their 70s.

The victim was hit by the SUV, which was making a right turn at a three-way intersection while trying to cross the pedestrian crosswalk.

At the scene, pedestrian traffic lights were not in operation, and only vehicle yellow flashing lights were active.

[Witness: The speed limit here is 30 km/h, so vehicles don't speed excessively. I've been running a business here for over a decade, and this is the first time I've ever seen an accident like this.]

While drivers can normally pass through yellow flashing signals while looking out for their surroundings, they must come to a complete stop if there are pedestrians crossing or attempting to cross the crosswalk.

However, many drivers are unaware of these regulations.

[Kim Jung-rim / Professor, The Road Traffic Authority: When a yellow flashing signal is on, the obligation to come to a complete stop when making a right turn remains the same. However, drivers are often unaware of this fact....]

Due to these risks, the Seoul Metropolitan Government will convert all crosswalk signals in school zones to red, which mandates a complete stop, within this year.

With approximately 2,800 locations still operating on flashing signals in Busan and South Gyeongsang Province, critics point out that signal operations must be improved starting with school zones.

(Video by: Park Young-jun / KNN)

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