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Our data journalism team began to report on the traffic accident problem of the elderly as serious as the child traffic accident yesterday (7th). Today, we will look at the issue of the elderly protection zone where you can take safety measures like speed limit like the school zone.

Reporter Shim Young-gu.

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A road in Dobong-gu, Seoul, between January and December last year, 71, 73, 71, 75, 65, and 70 years old, six elderly people were hit by cars crossing the street and injured large and small.

In Dobong-gu, 20% of the average floating population is elderly, and in Dobong 1-dong, 25% are elderly.

It is said that about 1 in 4 people are elderly people, but the percentage is the highest in Seoul.

Nonetheless, there are only one protected area for the elderly, and only two in the entire Dobong-gu area.

[City Officer: There are several restrictions (if designated as a protected area), so there is a careful approach. Residents have some uncomfortable areas.] When you are in the

elderly protection zone, the vehicle speed is limited to 30 km/h and parking in the area is completely prohibited.

As of the end of last year, there are more than 1,900 elderly protection zones nationwide and less than 500 in the metropolitan area where half of the population is concentrated.


It is one-third of the child protection zone.

Mabujakseong was the first media company to identify blind spots in the elderly in Seoul by combining elderly accidents and elderly population data.

Among the places where more than 1 traffic accidents occurred among pedestrians walking last year, 836 places were selected because of the area where the elderly population is above average.

It is said that it is necessary to increase more than 800 places in addition to 146 places for the elderly protected by the standard to be installed only in the vicinity of welfare facilities for the elderly.

The government said it would designate more than 800 places for the elderly to be protected nationwide by 2022, including around the traditional market, but the law was scrapped without discussion at the last National Assembly.

[Lee Jae-kyung/Senior Research Fellow, Korea Transport Institute: What is effective because not only the elderly go, but also adults and children go? In places such as residential areas and back roads, consider ways to limit the vehicle speed to 30 mph or less. It is necessary to do so.] It

is time for social consensus to ensure the safe walking of the disabled by keeping pace with the rapidly progressing aging phenomenon.

(Video coverage: Lee Byeong-joo · Seol Min-hwan, Video editing: Jun-hee Kim, CG: Hong Sung-yong, Choi Jae-young, Lee Ye-jung)