Speed limits in school zones to be increased from Friday

The new speed limit will be only applied to eight school zones nationwide. The speed limit in school zones will be increased to up to 50 kilometers (31 miles) per hour at night and in early morning hours starting Friday.

A speed limit sign with new speed caps stands in front of Gwangun Elementary School in Seongbuk District, northern Seoul, where the change has been in trial since July 2022. [YONHAP]

The speed limit in school zones will be increased to up to 50 kilometers (31 miles) per hour at night and in early morning hours starting Friday.

However, the regulation will only be applied in eight school zones nationwide.

The schools that will be tested on the new speed limit include Seoul Jongam Elementary School, Bupyeong Samsan Elementary School, Daegu Sinam Elementary School, Gwangju Songwon Elementary School, Daedeok Elementary School, Icheon Jeungpo Elementary School and Yeosu Shinpoong Elementary School.

The new regulation is likely to take a year before it is implemented across the country.

School zone speed limit will be raised to between 40 and 50 kilometers per hour from the current 30 kilometers per hour speed cap between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. when there are fewer students around school grounds, the National Police Agency said Tuesday.

Schools themselves can decide which hours to implement the eased speed limit in accordance with road conditions near the school.

The 30-kilometers-per-hour ceiling has been in place since March 2020, following the enactment of a law named after 7-year-old Kim Min-sik, who was killed in an auto accident in front of his school.

However, drivers have complained about the speed limit, deeming it unreasonable to enforce it around the clock, especially during times when there are no children present near schools, such as late at night or early in the morning.

While the speed limits within school zones are set to be relaxed, stricter speed regulations will be implemented on roads surrounding these zones in the interest of safety.

The current speed cap of 50 kilometers per hour will be reduced to 30 kilometers per hour between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., as well as from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Additionally, the speed limit on roads near schools lacking a clear demarcation between areas for vehicle traffic and pedestrian pathways will be capped at 30 kilometers per hour for the entire day.

The graph shows the changes in speed limits in school zones scheduled for enforcement on Friday. [NATIONAL POLICE AGENCY]

This directive comes in response to the death of a 9-year-old in Gangnam, who was fatally struck by a drunken driver while leaving school in December.

Even though the driver responsible was intoxicated, one of the raised concerns centered on the challenge of distinguishing between road sections.

Local residents, particularly parents whose children attended the same school, had frequently appealed to authorities to address this issue by segregating the road and constructing an elevated pedestrian pathway equipped with protective barriers.

Some 75 percent of the 400 parents and teachers from four schools participating in speed limit regulation testing since July 2022 said the current around-the-clock speed limit is inefficient, according to the Korea Road Traffic Authority (KoROAD).

The average speed of vehicles within the school zone in front of Gwangun Elementary School in Seongbuk District, northern Seoul, where the speed limit was relaxed during late hours, increased by 7.8 percent.

Vehicles traveling within the speed limit saw a significant rise of 113.1 percent.

But in two school zones where speed limits had been lowered, observation of the speed limit dropped nearly 70 percent.

The police said it plans to work on raising drivers’ awareness on the speed limit changes near schools and bolster children’s safety by increasing traffic monitoring efforts.

Thicker, more vivid yellow lines are printed at a crosswalk in front of Gugal Elementary School in Yongin, Gyeonggi, on June 7, when a newly reformed traffic regulation aimed at increasing drivers' awareness was implemented. [NEWS1]

They also intend to expand crosswalks and traffic signs around schools, along with stepping up enforcement of traffic laws to enhance child protection.

“The ‘Safe Speed 5030’ policy has been criticized for its inefficiency,” said People Power Party leader Kim Gi-hyeon on Aug. 14 when he visited KoROAD.

“The policy adopted a standardized regulation that did not consider various traffic conditions,” Kim added.

Safe Speed 5030 is a traffic policy that was introduced by the Moon Jae-in government in April 2021 to lower the speed limits on nearly all roads within urban areas to below 50 kilometers per hour.

The PPP leader suggested the implementation of time-based speed limits in school zones, a proposal that was met with opposition from rivaling parties and parents’ associations.

"It is hard to support the idea when accidents continue to occur in school zones and students are losing their lives even when the limit is under 30 kilometers per hour,” said Democratic Party Representative Kang Hoon-sik.

"There are many student pedestrians near schools even during nighttime due to the proximity of residential areas,” Kang Young-mi, head of a parents' organization in Daejeon, said. “Relaxing the school zone speed limit at night could pose a dangerous administrative decision."

BY KIM MIN-JOONG, SOHN DONG-JOO [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]