Driving Regulations

[Anchor Lead]

Over six months have passed since it became mandatory for all car passengers to wear seatbelts.
However, it has been found that nearly 70 percent of passengers in backseats don't wear seatbelts.
Police and the Korea Expressway Corporation conducted a surprise crackdown on an expressway. Here are details.

[Pkg]

An inter-city bus swerved from the road after hitting a construction vehicle. It could have been a fatal accident. Fortunately, no one sustained serious injuries, as all of the passengers were wearing seatbelts. Without seatbelts, the fatality rate goes up nearly threefold. More than 170 people died on expressways over the past three years, because they were not wearing seatbelts.

[Soundbite] Moon Sook-ho(Expressway Patrol Commander) : "There are many accidents where drivers or passengers die after being thrust off their seats because they don't wear seatbelts."

Upon seeing a surprise inspection on an expressway, a driver rush to try and buckle up.

[Soundbite] "Follow the patrol car, please."

The driver was not wearing a seatbelt. Plus, another violation: driving on a bus-only lane. Seatbelt restriction violations are more serious among backseat passengers. As inspectors get on the bus, passengers fasten their seatbelts in a hurry. All four passengers onboard were not wearing seatbelts. According to a Korea Transportation Safety Authority study, just 32 percent of backseat passengers wear seatbelts, while the rate comes to 88 percent among front seat passengers.

[Soundbite] Park Joong-kyu(Korea Expressway Corporation) : "Many people express discontent with the crackdown. However, they need to regard it as a crucial measure to protect their lives."

Drivers are fined 30,000 won when their passengers are not wearing seatbelts. The fines even increase to 60,000 when children aged 13 or under don't wear seatbelts.