Bill introduced in parliament to make seat belt wearing mandatory

A bill has been introduced in the National Assembly to make it mandatory for passengers to fasten seat belts in all seats while the car is running on a road in Korea.

According to the General Insurance Association in Korea on Thursday, Saenuri Rep. Kim Sang-min, a member of the National Policy Committee, has proposed a revision to the Road Traffic Act, which makes seat belt use mandatory in all seats while running on all types of roads. The current Road Traffic Act requires fastening seat belts in all seats only when running on highways and driveways.

The National Police Agency’s statistics on traffic accident from 2011 to 2013 shows that the fatality rate of car accidents increased by three up to four times when passengers did not fasten seat belts. “In traffic accidents in 2013, the fatality rate was 1.8 percent when passengers did not use seat belts. On the contrary, with the seat belts fastened, the death rate fell down to 0.4 percent," said the lawmaker. "Use of seat belts must be made mandatory in all seats and on all types of roads in order to reduce the death toll of traffic accidents."

minwoo@donga.com