Bicycle traffic accidents last year increased 8.3% from the previous year to 5,571 cases, with 75 people killed. In seven out of 10 accidents, the cause was failure to observe safe-driving duties, such as not looking ahead properly or not wearing a helmet.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) on the 27th released the Bicycle usage status as of 2024, which contains this information.
The materials released that day consist of a total of 23 statistics in four areas: ▲ bicycle traffic accidents ▲ bicycle-use facilities ▲ status of the cross-country bicycle paths ▲ policies to promote bicycle use.
There were a total of 5,571 bicycle traffic accidents last year. This was 425 more (8.3%) than the previous year (5,146). Deaths from accidents totaled 75 last year, up 11 (17%) from the previous year.
By type of accident, collisions between bicycles and cars totaled 3,638 last year, up 2.4% from the previous year. During the same period, collisions between bicycles and pedestrians totaled 1,677, up 24%.
The leading cause of accidents was failure to fulfill safe-driving duties at 66%. That was followed by signal violations (7%) and crossing the centerline (5%).
In addition, as of last year, the total length of domestic bicycle roads was 27,754 kilometers, up 3.3% from the previous year (26,872 kilometers). By type, ▲ shared roads for bicycles and pedestrians measured 20,660 kilometers, accounting for 74.4%. They were followed by bicycle-only roads (3,735 kilometers, 13.5%), bicycle-priority roads (2,252 kilometers, 8.1%), and bicycle-only lanes (1,107 kilometers, 4%).
The number of public bicycles owned last year was 69,572, up 6.2% from the previous year. By region, the number of public bicycle lending transactions was highest in Seoul at 43.88 million (75%). That was followed by Daejeon with 5.75 million (10%), South Gyeongsang with 4.61 million (8%), and Sejong with 2.58 million (4%).
The total length of the 12 cross-country bicycle routes is 1,857 kilometers, and about 58,000 people used them last year. Since implementation in 2012, cumulative users have exceeded 1 million.
Vice Minister Kim Min-jae of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) said, "Recently, bicycle traffic accidents among teenagers are increasing," and added, "To prevent and reduce safety accidents by creating a culture of bicycle safety through education and publicity, we will actively cooperate with related agencies such as local governments, the Korean National Police Agency, and the Ministry of Education."