'Panspring' Flies Toward Family Driving on Road, Pierces Vehicle

'Panspring' Hits Front Windshield of Family Car
No Casualties but Rear Windshield Penetrated

On the 10th, an object presumed to be a truck's pan spring flew into the vehicle driven by Mr. A. Photo by Online Community Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jung-wan] A harrowing accident occurred when an object presumed to be a cargo truck's panspring flew onto a vehicle driving on the highway and pierced through the front windshield.

According to the Southern Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency Highway Patrol on the 11th, around 11 a.m. the previous day near the Hobeop Junction on the Jungbu Expressway heading toward Daejeon in Icheon City, driver A, who was driving in the first lane, experienced an accident where the front windshield of the vehicle was shattered by a panspring.

A steel plate presumed to be a panspring fell off from a cargo truck driving in the second lane, bounced on the road, and flew directly into driver A's vehicle in the first lane. The object that pierced the front windshield collided once with the interior ceiling of the vehicle before breaking through the trunk glass and exiting outside.

Four people were in the car, including A’s wife, daughter, and mother-in-law. Fortunately, none of the occupants were hit by the panspring, so aside from injuries caused by glass shards, no serious casualties occurred.

A posted on the online community Bobae Dream, "By a stroke of luck, I was only scratched by glass fragments and had no external injuries. However, my family is very shaken."

A said he reported the cargo truck to the police but has not yet been able to confirm the offending vehicle’s license plate number. The police are currently tracking the vehicle suspected of losing the panspring.

Netizens responded with comments such as "It's really a huge relief that no one was hurt," and "This is practically attempted murder; they must be caught and made to pay."

The moment a leaf spring flies into Mr. A's vehicle at the time of the accident.

Driver A’s vehicle showed the impact of the accident with a large hole in the front passenger-side windshield and the rear windshield completely shattered.

A panspring is one of the shock absorbers installed under vehicles to absorb road impacts. It is often used as a support on the side of cargo trucks’ loading beds to prevent the cargo from spilling out when the bed opens sideways.

When a panspring falls onto the road, vehicles driving over it can cause it to bounce and strike other vehicles, leading to accidents.

Accidents caused by cargo truck steel pansprings continue to occur. On the 2nd of last month, near Bibong IC on the Seohaean Expressway in Hwaseong City, Gyeonggi Province, a panspring flew from a 1.5-ton cargo truck heading toward Seoul, injuring driver B with bruises on the hands and chest.

In January 2018, a driver was fatally struck by a suddenly flying panspring on the southbound Jungbu Expressway. It reportedly took 75 days to identify the driver involved.

Following repeated accidents caused by pansprings, in 2020 a petition was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board titled "We can no longer ignore fatal accidents caused by illegally modified (panspring) cargo trucks and overloaded cargo trucks."

The petitioner appealed, "Please enforce crackdowns on illegal use of pansprings and enact laws to regulate related accidents."

Meanwhile, over the past five years, an average of 41.2 accidents per year caused by falling objects on highways have been reported. The fatality rate for falling object accidents is 28.5%, which is twice the overall traffic accident fatality rate.