Increase in Vehicle Manufacturing Defects... "Mandatory Installation of Event Data Recorders Needed"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] With over 5,000 reports of automobile manufacturing defects approaching annually, there is a growing call to mandate the installation of event data recorders to protect consumers from accidents caused by manufacturing defects.

According to a report titled "Current Status of Vehicle Recalls and the Need for Improvement of Event Data Recorders," released on the 21st by the Samsung Traffic Safety Culture Research Institute affiliated with Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, an average of 2,175,000 vehicles were recalled annually over the past three years.

The report pointed out that since 2017, the scale of vehicle recalls has surged to around 2 million units, increasing the likelihood of accidents caused by vehicle defects. Regarding the reasons for recalls, domestic cars accounted for more than 50% of recalls due to brake systems and engines, while foreign cars were mainly recalled for defects in interior devices such as airbags and engines.

In particular, the number of manufacturing defect reports exceeds 5,000 annually, with one in four cases involving foreign cars. In 2018, there were 1,389 suspected manufacturing defect reports for foreign cars, accounting for 25% of all automobile manufacturing defect reports.

The report argued that to promptly assess such vehicle manufacturing defects, the installation of event data recorders should be made mandatory, and the scope of data disclosure should be expanded.

The report stated, "Since event data recorders are not mandatory in South Korea, there are cases where objective data cannot be confirmed because event data recorders are not installed even in accidents suspected of defects," and suggested, "The procedures for detailed requests and the methods of providing event data recorder reports are unclear, so improvements are needed to promote their use."

It further pointed out, "The scope of information disclosure from event data recorder data is limited to vehicle owners and drivers, and even when data disclosure is delegated to the police or insurance companies, manufacturers provide information only to the vehicle owners, causing difficulties in conducting prompt accident investigations and inconveniencing consumers."

Park Yo-han, senior researcher at the Samsung Traffic Safety Culture Research Institute, said, "As vehicles become more advanced with autonomous driving functions, defects caused by software errors and electrical/electronic devices are expected to increase," adding, "It is urgent to mandate and activate the installation of event data recorders introduced for investigating vehicle defects."

He also added, "To enable objective and prompt accident cause investigations, legal amendments are needed to expand the scope of event data recorder data disclosure to accident investigators delegated by consumers, such as the police and insurance companies."