차량 적재물 낙하사고에 대한 과실책임-형사책임을 중심으로- = A Study on the Strategies to secure Marine Transpotation Traffic

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The fatality rate of cargo falling on highways is 28.5%, which is twice the fatality rate of general traffic accidents. In this way, if a traffic accident occurs due to cargo falling, the probability of death or serious injury is high, and even if the vehicle is damaged by the falling object, it is difficult to receive compensation due to specific difficulties for the at-fault vehicle. The main cause of falling object accidents is poor loading or overloading of cargo trucks. In February 2024, a steel H-beam fell from a 25-ton cargo truck on the Gyeongbu Expressway, damaging three vehicles. According to Article 1, Paragraph 20 of the Cargo Truck Transport Business Act, transport business operators must take necessary measures, such as covering, packaging, and fixing devices, in accordance with the standards and methods prescribed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ordinance to prevent loaded cargo from falling. However, not only are there many poorly loaded trucks, but even if poor loading is confirmed, it is useless if the police do not immediately find the vehicle and crack down on it. Also, the biggest problem is that it is not easy to receive compensation for damages in the event of a falling object accident. Although it is possible to demand compensation for damages from the Korea Expressway Corporation due to poor management, it is very difficult to receive compensation for damages in the case of a falling object accident on a highway without casualties under the current law.
In the case of a falling object, if it leads to an accident, it is subject to criminal punishment under the 12 major negligences under the Special Act on the Handling of Traffic Accidents. In the case of a falling object accident, compensation of up to 150 million won for death and subsequent disability and up to 30 million won for medical expenses can be received under the government guarantee project under the Automobile Damage Compensation Security Act. However, there are still insufficient supplementary measures, especially the problem of identifying the perpetrator and proving the cause of the accident, and the problem of limiting liability, so there are many cases where there are victims at the accident scene but no perpetrator, and the victims’ damage recovery is not fully achieved. The victims are handling the case with their own automobile accident insurance and their own vehicle damage insurance. If the authority to crack down on improper loading of vehicles upon entry to the road is broadly distributed to enable road management officials to crack down on improper loading of vehicles, and if the personnel costs are covered by fines and penalties, it will greatly help prevent accidents while expanding the number of surveillance personnel.