A truck struck a passenger car on the Sejong-Pocheon Expressway, leaving four people dead or injured. The car is reported to have carried a brother and sister and a married couple.
The crash is understood to have occurred when the following truck failed to slow in time for the car entering a section of stopped traffic. Police are examining inattention to the road ahead and failure to keep a safe following distance.
광고 문의 · 300×250Damage in expressway rear-end collisions grows with the speed differential. Cases in which a following vehicle cannot decelerate at the tail of a jam are among the patterns with the highest fatality rates.
Trucks require longer stopping distances than passenger cars because of their loads. Needing more distance to stop at the same speed is a factor that raises the severity of these crashes.
Switching on hazard lights when entering slowed traffic to warn following vehicles is a basic rule. Highway authorities operate variable message signs and lane control systems where congestion is expected, but these depend on drivers noticing them in time.
Caution is warranted with expressway volumes rising ahead of the Chuseok holiday. Resting every two hours on long drives, keeping distance and recognizing the signs of drowsiness are the standard precautions.
