South Korea's police will gradually expand the number of school zones where the 30 kilometer-per-hour speed limit is eased during late-night hours, when almost no children are on the streets. Limits will be raised to 40-50 kph only in areas that meet requirements on pedestrian safety facilities and accident records, with the number of such zones set to reach about 160 by the end of the year.
The Korean National Police Agency announced the revised operating standards for the time-based speed limits in school zones on the 27th. Under the system, school zones normally capped at 30 kph around the clock can temporarily match the speed limits of surrounding roads during late-night hours, when few children are present.
School zone limits have largely been kept at 30 kph all day to protect pedestrians. But some have argued that applying the same restriction through late-night hours, when almost no children or other pedestrians are around, is excessive.
Police introduced the time-based limits at qualifying school zones after a pilot program in September 2023. As of April this year, however, only 84 of the country's 15,856 school zones, or 0.5%, were operating under the system.
Police cited public opinion and results from existing sites in explaining the expansion. In a survey of 500 people conducted by the agency in April, 76.4% of respondents supported the time-based limits, with 40% strongly in favor and 36.4% in favor. Parents of children in elementary school or younger accounted for 20% of all respondents.
At the 39 zones that have operated under the system, traffic accidents fell 23.6% to 55 from 72 before it took effect. Traffic deaths over the same period fell to zero from two. Police said they commissioned research from the Korea Road Traffic Authority based on the survey and accident data, and gathered opinions from local governments, provincial police agencies and autonomous police commissions before drawing up the revisions.
The revisions widen the roads eligible for time-based limits to those with one or more lanes each way, from two or more previously. Sites must have sidewalks separated from the roadway, along with guardrails, crosswalks, traffic signals and automated speed enforcement cameras. Areas where two or more pedestrian accidents involving children have occurred in the past three years are excluded.
The standard hours run from midnight to 6 a.m., reflecting data showing not a single pedestrian accident involving a child in school zones during those hours over the past five years. Depending on local traffic and pedestrian conditions, some zones may start as early as 10 p.m. or end as late as 7 a.m.
Police estimate that about 6,000 school zones nationwide meet the basic conditions for adoption. Rather than converting all of them at once, they plan to expand gradually in line with local government budgets and on-site conditions. About 160 zones will begin operating by the end of this year after traffic safety reviews and the design and installation of equipment.
"This is not a system that takes effect everywhere at once. Signs and safety facilities have to be installed and reviews have to be completed," an official at the Korean National Police Agency said. "Conditions differ between cities and rural areas, and between arterial roads and back streets, so we will adjust the times and locations in consultation with local governments."
Police plan to review the new sites annually and reconsider whether to maintain the time-based limits where pedestrian accidents involving children occur or risks increase.
