One in Five Cars Is Unfit for Operation... LPG Vehicles Risky, Electric Cars Safe

(Data from Korea Transportation Safety Authority)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] Last year, one out of five cars that underwent inspection was found to be unfit for operation.

The Korea Transportation Safety Authority announced on the 15th that, after analyzing last year's vehicle inspection statistics, 2.53 million out of 11.79 million vehicles (21.5%) were judged unfit.

According to the Authority, among the 23 inspection items, the highest failure rates were found in lighting devices (2.13 million cases), braking devices (480,000 cases), and exhaust emissions (440,000 cases), in that order.

LPG vehicles had the highest failure rate at 22.0%, while electric vehicles had the lowest at 6.0%.

By vehicle type, cargo trucks with longer mileage had the highest failure rate at 23.6%, followed by passenger cars (20.9%), vans (18.6%), and special-purpose vehicles (17.4%).

The failure rate also increased with vehicle age, with vehicles operated for more than 15 years showing a failure rate of 30.6%.

The Authority conducted a 'Braking Device Unfit Vehicle Risk Reproduction Test' targeting cargo trucks, as accidents can occur even if the mileage is not long when there is a problem with the braking device.

As a result of the test, when the braking force applied to both wheels was different, reproducing a 'biased braking' condition, the vehicle veered to one side when the brake was applied, making normal operation impossible.

When reproducing the so-called 'dragging phenomenon,' where the brake does not release even after braking, the temperature near the wheel exceeded 100 degrees Celsius within 100 seconds after driving, posing a fire risk.

Kwon Byung-yoon, Director of the Authority, said, "Thorough vehicle inspections are the easiest way to prevent traffic accidents and protect the lives of the public," and added, "We ask drivers operating large vans and cargo trucks, which are prone to severe accidents, to pay more attention to vehicle maintenance."

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