"Bus Driver Smells of Alcohol" Drunk Driving Caught After Passenger Report

Police Request Blood Alcohol Concentration Analysis from National Forensic Service

A city bus driver who was driving under the influence was caught after a passenger reported him, a fact that was revealed belatedly.

According to the police on the 23rd, at around 8 a.m. on the 13th, a passenger on a city bus operating on a road in Buam-dong, Busanjin-gu, Busan, reported to 112, saying, "It seems like the bus driver smells of alcohol," suspecting drunk driving.

The police who immediately responded stopped the city bus and measured the blood alcohol concentration of the driver, Mr. A, which showed a level warranting license cancellation. The police promptly removed Mr. A from the bus and transferred about 10 passengers to another bus.

To accurately measure the blood alcohol concentration, the police sent Mr. A’s blood sample to the National Forensic Service for analysis. Once the forensic results are out, an investigation will be conducted into how Mr. A avoided the pre-operation alcohol detection by the transportation company and still took the wheel.

Mr. A is also suspected of asking the company security guard to take the alcohol test on his behalf to hide his drinking. The city bus company to which he belongs has excluded Mr. A from work, and after the police investigation, they plan to hold a personnel committee to decide on disciplinary actions such as dismissal.

Additionally, Busan City is considering imposing administrative sanctions such as fines, business suspension, or penalties on the city bus company.

Meanwhile, a similar drunk driving incident involving a city bus driver recently occurred in Gimhae City, Gyeongnam Province. Mr. B, a bus driver in his 50s, was booked without detention in March for driving about 2.5 km under the influence from a depot in Gimhae City in February.

At that time, there were three passengers on the bus, and one of them reported to the police that the bus driver seemed to have been drinking. The police who arrived measured Mr. B’s blood alcohol concentration, which was 0.069%, a level warranting license suspension.