South Korea’s highways are reaching record-breaking safety levels with the help of artificial intelligence. Annual highway fatalities fell from 151 in 2023 to 147 last year, the lowest since records began in 2000. Officials credit the decline to the advancement of road inspection methods.
One major innovation involves LiDAR sensors. In the past, experts spent up to three weeks manually checking roads for water buildup that can cause dangerous skidding. Now, laser-scanning technology creates a 3D digital model of a road in about one hour, allowing near-immediate repairs. In addition, an AI system trained on 250,000 images scans highways twice a month to detect small cracks before they become hazardous potholes.
AI-powered cameras also monitor traffic with high precision. These smart systems can identify stopped vehicles, wrong-way driving, and fallen objects from up to 600 meters away with 96% accuracy. This enables emergency teams to respond much faster to prevent secondary crashes. The efforts were recognized with the President’s Award at the 2025 Active Administration Awards. Through cutting-edge tech, the Korea Expressway Corporation aims to eventually reach a future with “zero deaths” on the road.
J.K. Park Senior Reporter junior/1776299911/1613367801
1. How much time does laser scanning take for road models?
2. What is the specific accuracy rate of AI-powered cameras?
3. Which award did these highway safety efforts receive recently?
4. How many images were used to train the AI system?
1. Should AI technology eventually replace all human road inspectors?
2. How can smart technology help prevent secondary traffic accidents?
3. Is a future with zero road deaths truly possible?
4. Would you feel safer driving on an AI-monitored highway?
South Korea’s highways are reaching record-breaking safety levels with the help of artificial intelligence. Annual highway fatalities fell from 151 in 2023 to 147 last year, the lowest since records began in 2000. Officials credit the decline to the advancement of road inspection methods.
