It is going to be interesting to see how well this new traffic law is going to be enforced:
A new road traffic law obligating drivers to stop when turning right at intersections to better protect pedestrians will be formally enforced, beginning this weekend, after a three-month grace period, the National Police Agency (NPA) said Thursday.
The NPA said it will begin to crack down on drivers caught violating the new right turn rules starting Saturday.
Under the new rules, drivers must make a full stop prior to a right turn not only when pedestrians are on the crosswalk but also when they are trying to get on it. Even if a right turn is permitted according to the traffic signal, vehicles must stop immediately if a pedestrian is spotted crossing the crosswalk.
At intersections where a right turn signal is installed, drivers cannot turn right on a red light and are allowed to turn right only when a green arrow signal is on.
Violators could face fines of up to 200,000 won (US$150) or detention for under 30 days. If violators pay certain penalties, however, the fines or detention will be exempted. The penalty is 70,000 won for a van, 60,000 won for a passenger car and 40,000 won for a two-wheeled vehicle.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
I feel for anyone that has to battle Chuseok traffic. I have had to do it once before and I said never again:
Most highways and roads were clogged with heavy traffic early Sunday, as people were traveling back home on the third day of the four-day Chuseok holiday.
Chuseok, the Korean autumn harvest celebration, is one of the country’s biggest traditional holidays and serves as a chance for family members to get together. Chuseok is celebrated on Aug. 15 in the lunar calendar, which fell on Saturday this year.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
If you thought the traffic in central Seoul was bad enough, well it has recently gotten even worse:
Seoul City has started construction to widen Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul by turning part of an adjacent thoroughfare into a pedestrian-only space.
Korea Times
The capital’s most ambitious renovation project began on March 6, aiming to expand the square, which has been criticized for being pedestrian-unfriendly by sitting in the middle of the busy Sejong-daero thoroughfare.
You can read more at the link, but this all the more reason to use the subway in Seoul.
You would think someone would have studied how to best handle vehicle access into Camp Humphreys during rush hour periods. It appears that was not the case:
Traffic jams are posing a major headache for the growing population on Camp Humphreys, the U.S. military’s new headquarters in South Korea, with many complaining about a dearth of access gates and guards to man them.
Stars & Stripes
Lines of cars are frequently backed up for several blocks on the roads outside and inside the Army’s largest overseas base as drivers wait to file through sometimes a single lane during rush hours. Scanners used by the guards to check IDs often don’t work promptly, causing even more frustration.
One man was injured when the grab barriers deployed as he was driving through one of the access points in November.
“It is out of control,” said Elyse Hendriksen-Bannon, who must battle traffic twice in the morning to get on post – first when she takes her husband to work and later to take her 13-year-old son to the middle school.
You can read the rest at the link.
This photo, taken May 5 2018, shows vehicles stuck in a traffic jam on one side of the Gyeongbu Expressway, which links Seoul with southern areas, as travelers leave the city to celebrate Children’s Day. (Yonhap)
The Seoul-Busan highway is crowded with heavy traffic in both directions on Feb. 16, 2018, the Lunar New Year Day, as people travel to and from their hometowns for the holiday. (Yonhap)
This aerial photo, taken on Jan. 26, 2017, shows heavy traffic clogging one side of a highway linking Seoul to the southwestern port city of Mokpo in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul, on Jan. 26, 2017, as the annual exodus for the Lunar New Year holiday begins. Known as “Seol,” the Lunar New Year, which falls on Jan. 27-30 this year, is one of the two major traditional Korean holidays. The state-run Korea Transport Institute forecasts that as many as 31.15 million people will travel to their home towns or tourist sites nationwide during the Jan. 26-30 period. (Yonhap)
