NON-OPERATING CCTVS IN SCHOOL ZONES

[Anchor Lead]

It’s been more than a year since a tougher law for children’s traffic safety was legislated. The new law led to more CCTVs in school zones around the country, but more than half of those surveillance cameras are not operated, leaving children walking to and from school in danger.

[Pkg]

Cars slow down as they enter the children protection zone in front of an elementary school. More surveillance cameras and other safety facilities were installed since a new law was legislated to prevent accidents within school zones.

[Soundbite] Kim Yeong-hee(Daegu Resident) : "I took my grandchild to school. Cars stop when they see a pedestrian. I feel very safe."

But the problem is, only 40% of the cameras set up in the school zones in Daegu are in operation. That means more than half of the installed CCTVs are useless. The city had set up some 100 cameras in roughly 60 elementary school zones in 2020. But those cameras are not in use yet. Several administrative steps, such as a speed error rate test, are required after the CCTVs are set up. But a sudden increase in the number of cameras created a backlog in such follow-up measures.

[Soundbite] Lee Jong-geun(Traffic Information Service Center, Daegu City Gov’t) : "Between 2015 to the start of 2020, fewer than 20 CCTVs were set up on average. So many CCTVs were installed in just 2020 alone, that we’re still testing them."

Last year, 48 accidents involving children occurred in school zones in Daegu and the Gyeongbuk region. Children’s safety in school zones is still threatened as laws are not properly enforced and administrative actions proceed at a snail’s pace.