By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff reporter
Taxi and express bus drivers could be required to expel passengers refusing to wear seatbelts from early next year.
Owners of these transport vehicles will also be obliged to check drivers follow the strengthened passenger safety rules. Otherwise, they will be hit with hefty fines.
The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said Wednesday that it will revise the "Passenger Transport Vehicle Act" and send it to the National Assembly for approval later this year. It would like to see it go into effect in the first half of next year.
Under the revision, taxi and bus drivers who do not wear a seatbelt will have to pay 100,000 won ($82) in fines if caught by the police. Additionally, they will be required to ensure that passengers fasten their seatbelts. Otherwise, they will be slapped with the same penalty.
Operators of taxis and buses will be charged a 200,000 won fine if they fail to properly educate drivers about the strengthened passenger safety rules or let vehicles operate with broken seatbelts.
Currently, commercial passenger transport vehicles that run only on expressways and car-only roads are subject to the seatbelt rule. When passengers are found not to wear a seatbelt, drivers are issued a 30,000 won fine.
"The toughening of the seatbelt rules will help us reduce the number of casualties in traffic accidents involving taxis and buses. Many lives could have been saved in the past if they had buckled up," a ministry official said. "We expect the change to increase the seatbelt awareness among drivers and passengers, as well as cut human death tolls in future accidents."