45% of Highway Deaths Involve Cargo Trucks... Police Focus on Overloading and Poor Maintenance Enforcement

The National Police Agency announced on the 1st that it plans to actively crack down on illegal activities of freight trucks, focusing on highways until the end of the year.

The police recognized the seriousness of freight truck drivers' safety negligence and promoted intensive crackdowns on freight trucks. In fact, reviewing the number of fatalities by vehicle type on highways over the past five years, the fatal accident rate for freight trucks accounted for 45% of the total vehicle types, the highest proportion recorded.

Over the past two months, the police conducted joint crackdowns at major port and industrial complex toll gates on highways in cooperation with related agencies such as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Korea Transportation Safety Authority, and Korea Expressway Corporation, resulting in 775 cases being booked on charges including violations of the Automobile Management Act and the Freight Truck Transportation Business Act.

While the total number of crackdowns on highways decreased due to focusing on dangerous behaviors of freight trucks, the number of crackdowns on hazardous freight truck items (such as improper or excessive loading) reached 1,064 cases, an 80% increase compared to the same period last year.

The number of highway accidents also decreased by 20% to 684 cases compared to the same period last year. It is analyzed that activities addressing freight truck maintenance and improper loading have been effective in preventing accidents.

The police have designated major hazardous behaviors of freight trucks on highways and plan to respond intensively until the end of the year. They will continue regular joint crackdowns on maintenance deficiencies every month in cooperation with the Korea Transportation Safety Authority, and expand regular crackdown activities on improperly loaded freight trucks together with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korea Expressway Corporation.

In addition, crackdown activities to increase compliance with designated lanes and speed limits for freight trucks will be conducted simultaneously with promotional and educational efforts to improve freight truck drivers' safety awareness.

A National Police Agency official urged, “Since the human damage caused by large vehicles on highways is enormous, we ask drivers to operate their vehicles with a greater sense of responsibility for life.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.