Truck Drivers Must Take a 15-Minute Break After 2 Hours of Continuous Driving

Starting April, Enforcement and Inspection of Cargo Truck Rest Time Compliance

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo Gang-wook] From now on, truck drivers must take a break of at least 15 minutes after driving continuously for 2 hours. This is because drowsiness and inattention are cited as major causes of truck accidents on highways.

According to the Korea Transportation Safety Authority on the 3rd, since the strengthened compliance standards for truck drivers' rest time took effect on the 1st of last month, the Authority, together with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and relevant local governments, will conduct guidance and inspections to ensure compliance with truck drivers' rest times.

The rest time for truck drivers has been strengthened from the previous standard, which guaranteed rest time after 4 hours of continuous driving, to now guarantee at least 15 minutes of rest after 2 hours of continuous driving, according to the amendment of the "Cargo Motor Vehicle Transport Business Act" (March 1, 2021).

Last year, the total number of traffic accident fatalities was 3,081, showing an average annual decrease of 8.0% over the past five years (2016?2020). However, for trucks, the average annual decrease rate was only 4.8%, which is about 60% of the overall vehicle types.

In particular, due to frequent use of highways for long-distance travel, the proportion of truck traffic accident fatalities occurring on highways (12.7%) was more than twice that of all vehicle types (6.2%).

Also, the fatality rate of truck traffic accidents on highways was 9.3%, which is 1.9 times higher than the overall highway average (4.9%) and 3.3 times higher than the overall truck average (2.8%).

The causes of such truck accidents on highways have been identified as drowsiness and inattention.

Kwon Yong-bok, Director of the Authority, emphasized, “Ensuring the safety of transportation workers is paramount to reducing traffic accidents. Now, truck drivers must also take a break of at least 15 minutes after 2 hours of continuous driving, just like bus drivers.” He added, “Starting in April, we will intensively conduct guidance and inspections to ensure compliance with truck drivers' rest times, striving to establish this policy early as a measure to prevent truck traffic accidents.”

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