Seoul Metropolitan Government on Tuesday proposed a “Road safety plan version 3,” specifying policies for enhanced road safety in Seoul.  

Under the newly proposed plan, the speed limit for the small inner roads of Seoul’s streets will drop to 30 km per hour, while the limit for the main arterial roads will drop to 50 km per hour.

Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements claimed that if all vehicles drove by the 30 km per hour advised speed, the pedestrian fatality rate will fall to around 10 percent. 

In huge intersections, “scramble crosswalks” will appear, where pedestrians can cross the street in any direction. This is hoped to prevent jaywalking. At least 20 scramble crosswalks will be installed every year until 2021. Currently, there are 26 scramble crosswalks in Seoul, installed partially at two way-roads with four lanes.

Measures to decrease the number of Smombies -- a compound word of smartphone and zombie, referring to those who walk with their eyes on mobile devices -- will be taken as well. Technology from NTT, a wireless operator of Japan that analyzes walks and warns the user, is being considered for use.

By Im Eun-byel (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)