▲ An undated file photo of a school zone (Yonhap)

school zone-speed limit

Police seeking to ease late-night speed limit in school zones

SEOUL, May 19 (Yonhap) -- Police are pushing to relax school zone speed limits, currently set at 30 kph, in after hours when chances of accidents involving children are slim, information obtained by Yonhap News Agency showed Tuesday.

The Korean National Police Agency asked the Korea Road Traffic Authority earlier this month to conduct a research project regarding measures to revise speed limits in school zones.

Vehicle speeds in school zones are limited to 30 kph, but some drivers question the strict speed regulations during hours when young students are not out and about.

The police move is expected to gain momentum as a government task force has also suggested a need to loosen school-zone speed limits. Current discussions are reportedly focused on raising speed limits during late-night hours or holidays, when children are less likely to be present.

Police data showed that about half of the pedestrian accidents involving children in Seoul's school zones over the past three years occurred between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

The police have already been implementing relaxed speed regulations in 78 of roughly 16,000 school zones nationwide since September 2023, raising the speed limit to 40 to 50 kph between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.

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