Anti-Corruption Commission Recommends System Improvements to Impose Fines and Penalty Points for Obstructing Fire Truck Routes

A recommendation has been issued to establish an institutional foundation to ensure that fire trucks, ambulances, and other emergency vehicles can arrive at the scene without delay.

Kim Kiseon, Director of the Policy Improvement Bureau at the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, is speaking at the Government Sejong Complex. Photo by Yonhap News

On October 13, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced that it had recommended the "Measures to Facilitate Road Passage for Emergency Vehicles" to the National Fire Agency, the National Police Agency, 17 metropolitan governments, and the Korea Road Traffic Authority.

Vehicles used for firefighting, criminal investigations, and rescue operations are classified as emergency vehicles, and drivers are required to yield the right of way to ensure their priority passage. However, many drivers either do not know how to yield or, even if they do, fail to make way, resulting in frequent accidents during dispatch or transport. Of the 1,025 fire truck traffic accidents that occurred between 2020 and 2024, 722 cases (70.4%) happened during dispatch or transport.

To address this, the commission has called for a revision of standards so that heavier fines are imposed for repeated violations, such as failing to yield or blocking the path of fire trucks-actions that impede emergency response. Additionally, it recommended establishing a legal basis in the Road Traffic Act to assign penalty points to those who violate the obligation to yield.

The commission also suggested adding regulations, such as ordinances, to reduce regional disparities in the implementation of the emergency vehicle priority signal system, which controls traffic signals to allow emergency vehicles to pass through intersections without stopping. It further proposed establishing a basis for support at the central government level.

Furthermore, to raise awareness about yielding to emergency vehicles, the commission recommended increasing the number of related questions on the written driver’s license test and adding questions regarding penalties for violations.

Kim Kiseon, Director of the Policy Bureau for Improvement of Public Interest at the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, stated, "We have prepared these institutional improvement measures to ensure that emergency vehicles, which protect the lives and safety of the public, can carry out their duties safely and quickly."

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