More than 30% of pedestrian fatalities on roads without sidewalks involved "stealth pedestrians"—pedestrians lying or sitting on the road who are difficult for drivers to identify.
This is according to an analysis of pedestrian fatalities over the past five years released on the 2nd by the Samsung Traffic Safety Research Institute. The institute comprehensively analyzed crash environments and risk factors by examining claims database records from 2020 to 2024 alongside dashcam footage of crashes on roads without sidewalks.
The claims database analysis recorded 4,057 fatal traffic crashes and 4,229 deaths. Vehicle-pedestrian crashes accounted for the largest share by crash type, with 1,561 crashes (38.5%) and 1,575 deaths (37.2%).
Of the 105 pedestrian fatalities on roads without sidewalks, 32 cases (30.5%) involved "stealth pedestrians." By specific behavior, crashes involving pedestrians who were lying down numbered 24—three times more than those involving pedestrians who were sitting (8 cases).
The crashes were concentrated on narrow local residential roads (back roads) with insufficient nighttime lighting and no clear separation between sidewalks and vehicle lanes. Roads less than 9 meters wide accounted for 75.0% (24 cases) of stealth pedestrian fatalities.
By number of lanes, more than half of all crashes—53.1% (17 cases)—occurred on local residential roads with mixed two-way vehicle and pedestrian traffic (one lane in each direction). They were followed by two lanes in each direction (21.9%) and four lanes in each direction (15.6%).
The risk of stealth pedestrian crashes increased at night, when drivers have difficulty maintaining a clear view. Nighttime crashes, defined as those occurring from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. the following day, accounted for 41.0% (43 cases) of all pedestrian fatalities on roads without sidewalks. Among stealth pedestrian crashes, however, the nighttime share was 62.5% (20 cases), about 1.5 times higher and up 21.5 percentage points. By time period, the largest shares occurred from 7 to 8 p.m. (15.6%, 5 cases), followed by 9 to 10 p.m. (12.5%, 4 cases).
By season, fall (September-November) recorded the highest share at 34.4% (11 cases), followed by winter at 28.1% (9 cases). By month, November had the highest share at 15.6% (5 cases), while March, September and December each accounted for 12.5% (4 cases).
The Samsung Traffic Safety Research Institute explained, "Stealth pedestrian fatalities are representative blind-spot crashes that occur when poor nighttime visibility for drivers combines with pedestrians being in a dangerous condition on roads shared by vehicles and pedestrians." It added, "Securing sidewalks to physically separate pedestrian and vehicle traffic is the best solution. However, on local residential roads where widening the roadway is difficult, visibility-enhancing facilities such as illuminated signs and smart streetlights should be expanded, and protective fences should be installed in more necessary sections." The institute emphasized, "A proactive response is needed to eliminate pedestrian safety blind spots by introducing behavior-recognition AI CCTV that automatically detects pedestrians lying or sitting on the road, broadcasts warnings at the scene, and immediately sends alerts to control centers to establish a smart safety system."
Meanwhile, the number of traffic fatalities in South Korea fell by an annual average of 6.4%, from 4,292 in 2016 to 2,521 in 2024. However, it increased by 1.1% in 2025 from the previous year.
Sohyung Kim, Reporter compact@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
