Gov’t combats drowsy driving

The government is stepping up its efforts to combat drowsy driving-related accidents, which kill more than 100 people in Korea every year.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation announced countermeasures, Friday, against the “silent killer on the road,” including reducing working hours of bus drivers.

The ministry will push ahead with making a law to require bus companies to give at least 10 straight hours to their drivers between shifts so they can get enough rest, more than the current eight hours.

“There is no doubt that drowsy driving is the cause of many accidents, one of the causes of drowsy driving is a poor working environment for drivers,” Minister Kim Hyun-mee said.

“The number of deaths from traffic accidents has decreased over the years, but still Korea is among the worst in that area compared with other OECD members.”

Bus companies in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province will also have to install two safety features — forward collision warning system and lane departure warning system — in all of their 3,000 vehicles by the end of the year.

The ministry said it plans to offer financial support and policy incentives to bus companies to encourage them to have the systems ready as quickly as possible.

Also, all new vehicles will have to install advanced emergency braking systems starting next year, the ministry noted.

According to the National Police Agency, more than 100 people die in traffic accidents every year due to drowsy driving. Fatality rates are especially high for accidents on expressways.

Studies show drowsy driving can be just as dangerous as driving while drunk. Both slow down reaction time, impair vision and cause lapses in judgment.

Yet the public awareness of the danger of drowsy driving remains low. According to a survey revealed earlier this week by the job site, Career, 65 percent of respondents said they have driven a car while drowsy. More than 16 percent said they have done it five times or more.

Policymakers have been struggling to come up with ways to reduce the number of drowsy-driving-related accidents, which is far more difficult to penalize than drunk driving based on objective measures.

“We will try our best to prevent tragic deaths from drowsy driving,” Kim said.