Parking and stopping to be banned on school zone

Parking and stopping of cars in the roads around schools will be completely banned starting Oct. 21.

The police and the Seoul city government announced on Wednesday that starting Oct. 21, cars are prohibited from parking and stopping on the road in a school zone following the amendment of the Enforcement Decree of the Road Traffic Act. Drivers of a passenger car who get caught parking and stopping within the school zone from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. during peak police enforcement times will be fined 120,000 won, triple the amount of fine imposed on drivers who get caught on regular roads.

In the past, the police enforcement used to be focused on cars parking and stopping on a road marked with yellow lines within school zones. With the amendment of the Enforcement Decree of the Road Traffic Act in May, parking and stopping of a car within a school zone have become entirely prohibited regardless of the existence of the road markings in yellow.

Stop signs and pavement markings signaling areas for child protection are installed in places where a school zone starts and ends and within an intersection of two roads.

Meanwhile, drop-off and pick-up zones for children who travel long distances to school or come to school by car will be installed. Cars will only be allowed to stop for no more than five minutes at places where the blue signs are installed near the main entrance or back gate. The blue stop signs will be erected at 201 out of a total of 1,741 school zones in Seoul.

“Drivers should exercise caution on a driveway near elementary schools, kindergartens, daycare centers, and private academic institutions, and watch out for children safety zone signs,” said an official at the Seoul city government. “Try to stay as short as possible at drop-off and pick-up zones, as they are very closely spaced to accommodate two or three cars at best.”


Chang-Kyu Park kyu@donga.com