Gyeonggi Province Launches 'Safety Umbrella Campaign' Through November for Safe School Commutes for Children

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun Reporter] Gyeonggi Province will conduct the 'Elementary School Commute Route Safety Umbrella Campaign' from June 24 through November at 212 elementary schools across the province to ensure safe school commutes for children on rainy days.

The safety umbrellas are made of transparent, light-reflective material, which makes it easier for children to maintain visibility while commuting to and from school on rainy days, and allows drivers to easily identify the children's location.

One side of the umbrella displays '30 (km/h),' the speed limit in child protection zones, guiding drivers to maintain safe speeds.

Following the distribution of safety umbrellas to 50,500 first-grade students at 553 elementary schools last year, Gyeonggi Province this year plans to select 212 elementary schools focused on 'Education Welfare Priority Support Project' schools located in rural and farming areas, and will manufacture and distribute 25,000 safety umbrellas.

Starting with Geumchon Elementary School in Paju on June 24, schools participating in the campaign will also conduct traffic safety educational visits with retired police officers serving as instructors to enhance the professionalism of traffic safety education.

According to a survey conducted last year by Gyeonggi Province of 553 elementary schools that were targets of the safety umbrella campaign, 96% of participating schools expressed willingness to apply for the safety umbrella campaign again, and 94% responded that the safety umbrellas significantly help prevent traffic accidents on school routes.

Lee Hwa-jin, Director of the Lifelong Education Division of Gyeonggi Province, said, "We will implement the safety umbrella campaign through November, focusing on periods with frequent rain," and added, "We will combine safety umbrella distribution with in-person and non-in-person traffic safety education to enhance effectiveness."

Meanwhile, based on analysis of the Road Traffic Authority's traffic accident analysis system data, Gyeonggi Province recorded a total of 2,605 traffic accidents involving children aged 12 and under last year, occurring at a rate of 7.1 cases per day. This resulted in 5 deaths and 3,207 injuries.

The number of child traffic accidents in Gyeonggi Province accounts for 29.3% of the national total and is more than 2.5 times that of Seoul (1,026 cases). In particular, last year there were 523 traffic accidents involving children within child protection zones (school zones) in the province alone (2 deaths, 563 injuries).