July sees highest rainfall of year, raising highway fatality risk 1.4 times on wet roads, Korea Expressway Corp. warns

Last year, a vehicle traveling toward Incheon on the Yeongdong Expressway near the Yeoju rest stop lost control and skidded after a tire blowout and other mechanical failures. The vehicle struck a roadside noise barrier, ejecting the driver and separating the cargo bed. One person was killed and two others suffered minor injuries.

Korea Expressway Corp. analyzed highway traffic accident data for July over the past three years and warned that the risk of major crashes is elevated due to hazards including heavy rain and strong winds.

According to the corporation, July records the highest monthly rainfall of the year, with an average of 378 millimeters falling over 15 days. Casualties from wet-road accidents have risen steadily throughout the summer, averaging 0.7 deaths in June, 1.3 in July and 3.3 in August over the three-year period — a trend that spans the overlapping rainy season and summer vacation period.

Data from the Korea Transportation Safety Authority show that wet-road accidents on expressways over the past five years totaled 1,928 cases, accounting for 3.2 percent of all highway crashes. The fatality rate — deaths per 100 accidents — stood at 4.7, roughly 1.4 times higher than the 3.4 recorded on clear days. Because a single wet-road accident can easily escalate into a major crash, drivers are urged to exercise extra caution in rainy conditions.

The most effective way to prevent wet-road accidents is to inspect the vehicle before setting out. Drivers should check tire tread wear and inflate tires to at least 10 percent above normal pressure to improve drainage, which helps prevent hydroplaning and shorten braking distances at highway speeds.

While driving, speed should be reduced by at least 20 percent under normal conditions and by 50 percent or more during heavy downpours. Drivers should also maintain at least twice the usual following distance, pass through flooded sections slowly without stopping, and apply the brakes in short, repeated pumps rather than in a single hard press.

"July, when the rainy season and summer vacations overlap, is a time when the risks of both wet-road accidents and drowsy driving rise simultaneously," a Korea Expressway Corp. official said. "We ask drivers to complete vehicle checks — including tires — before departure, and to slow down and take adequate rest breaks while driving, so everyone can enjoy a safe summer vacation."

Meanwhile, Korea Expressway Corp. has designated May 15 to Oct. 10 this year as a "summer flood and storm preparedness period," during which it is inspecting vulnerable facilities. The corporation has also completed a special inspection of all reinforced-earth retaining walls nationwide, following a thorough analysis of a retaining wall collapse that occurred last year.