City of Seoul installs steel guard rails along accident-prone roads

The Seoul metropolitan government announced on Tuesday that it would install steel guardrails on accident-prone roads to protect pedestrians following the fatal car crash in July that killed nine people.

The decision is part of a series of safety measures that will see 30.8 billion won ($23 million) spent by next year to renovate about 400 intersections, including installing steel guard rails at 98 locations.

The plan follows the fatal car crash near Seoul City Hall, in which a sedan driven by a 68-year-old man sped in the wrong direction on a one-way street near City Hall before hitting the sidewalk guardrails, hitting pedestrians and colliding with two other cars.

The city has since attempted to reinforce pedestrian guardrails and implement other safety measures.

The safety fences are able to protect pedestrians even in the event of an impact from an 8-ton vehicle traveling at 55 kilometers per hour at a 15-degree angle.

The fences currently in place are primarily intended to prevent people from crossing the road when the light is red, but according to the city administration they are considered too fragile to protect pedestrians from car accidents.

In addition, on one-way streets, where drivers tend to confuse directions, LED traffic signs reading “No Turns” are installed to improve visibility.

In addition, large flower pots and bollards will be placed in open spaces, for example near Gwanghwamun Square, to prevent cars from entering the area in the first place.

The city government said that the installation of guard rails at the accident site had already been completed and that additional traffic signs had been put up to prevent reversing. (Yonhap)