A bus driver ran a red light and caused an accident.
The driver has been criminally prosecuted, the victim has settled with the company, and the case seems to be closed. But then, a few days later, the company owner receives a subpoena.
At this point, many transportation company representatives ask the same question.
"Didn't the driver cause the accident?"
However, the law is not that simple: as confirmed by the Supreme Court case 2021da257705, the bus company can be held liable even if the driver is not at fault.
This is especially true in the case of 12-vehicle gross negligence accidents. Even if you settle with the victim and have comprehensive insurance, you cannot avoid criminal penalties. And if the company is found to have failed to fulfill its duty of care, the business owner is also subject to criminal, civil, and administrative liability.
This means that one accident by a driver can lead to
- Criminal penalties for the company representative
- Civil liability
- Administrative penalties
for the company representative.
According to the Traffic Accident Act, in a typical car accident, a victim can avoid criminal penalties if they don't want to be punished or if they have comprehensive insurance.
However, there are exceptions for behaviors that fall under the 12 gross negligence offenses.
In this case, criminal proceedings will take place regardless of insurance or settlement. In a normal car accident, the insurance company will compensate the victim and the case will be closed, but in a 12th degree gross negligence accident, criminal proceedings against the driver will continue even after compensation and settlement.
Furthermore, the business owner can also be penalized if it is determined that the company failed to fulfill its duty of care.
| No. | Type | Bus-Related |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Signal Violation | ✅ |
| 2 | Center Line Violation | ✅ |
| 3 | Speeding (Over 20 km/h) | ✅ |
| 4 | Illegal Overtaking / Cutting In | ✅ |
| 5 | Railroad Crossing Violation | - |
| 6 | Failure to Protect Pedestrians at Crosswalk | ✅ |
| 7 | Driving Without a License | - |
| 8 | Drunk Driving | - |
| 9 | Sidewalk Violation | ✅ |
| 10 | Failure to Prevent Passenger Fall (Departure with Door Open) | ✅ Bus-specific |
| 11 | School Zone Safety Violation | ✅ |
| 12 | Failure to Secure Cargo | - |
In the real world of transportation, certain types of accidents happen repeatedly.
These include
Open-door trains that depart before passengers have fully disembarked at a stop
Traffic signal violations caused by dispatch pressure or time delays
Speeding in a school zone when the route passes through a school zone
Violations of pedestrian protection in crosswalks
Rather than simple mistakes, these incidents often stem from issues with driver behavior management and operational structure.
What makes the 12 Deadly Sins so dangerous isn't just the accident itself.
It's because one accident can lead to criminal, civil, and administrative liability.
In other words, an accident doesn't just end, it leads to penalties, restitution, and business risk.
In the case of 12 gross negligence accidents, the driver is subject to a fine of up to
imprisonment for up to 5 years or a fine of up to 20 million won.
It is important to note that the criminal penalties do not disappear even if you settle the case.
Also, even if the accident was caused by the driver's own violation, the business owner can be held liable if the company failed to fulfill its duty of care.
The Passenger Motor Carrier Business Act requires operators to
specific safety management obligations, such as training drivers, maintaining driving records, and inspecting vehicles.
Failure to fulfill these obligations can lead to administrative penalties and even criminal liability.
Furthermore, if the lack of management system is recognized as the cause of an accident, the Fatal Accident Punishment Act may be applied. Most business buses, such as city buses, intercity buses, and charter buses used in the passenger car transportation business, are considered "public transportation" under the Fatal Accidents Act, and whether the employer fulfills its obligation to ensure safety and health is a key criterion for determining punishment.
Civil liability is even stronger.
According to the Motor Vehicle Damage Compensation Guarantee Act, the company's liability is recognized by default in the event of an accident.
This means that the company must prove that the driver was not at fault, the victim was at fault, and the vehicle was not defective in order to escape liability.
In passenger accidents in particular, the standard is even stricter, making exoneration very difficult in practice.
Add to that user liability under civil law, and the company is jointly and severally liable with the driver.
In the event of an accident, the company is responsible for the following costs
Medical expenses: hospitalization, surgery, rehabilitation, etc.
Lost earnings: lost income due to the accident
Alimony: Compensation for emotional damages
Subrogation: Additional claims from insurance companies and health insurance organizations, etc.
It's important to consider that even if you've settled with the victim, you may still face additional claims from third parties.
|
The actual cost of one accident The cost of an accident isn't just the damage award. There are also increased deductibles, criminal settlements, attorney fees, and administrative response costs, |
Administrative penalties have a direct impact on your company's operations.
It can start with fines and lead to partial suspension of operations, route reductions, and eventual license revocation.
In particular, 12 grossly negligent accidents are more likely to lead to license revocation.
| Stage | Disciplinary Action | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | Fine Imposed | Can be chosen instead of business suspension |
| Stage 2 | Partial Business Suspension (Up to 6 Months) | Suspension of specific routes or vehicles |
| Stage 3 | Order to Reduce or Eliminate Routes | Forced downsizing of business operations |
| Stage 4 | License Revocation | Business termination |
A driver who causes an accident can have their license revoked, which can lead to driver disqualification.
In this case, the company incurs additional operational costs and risks, including new hiring, training, and reassigning dispatch.
Administrative penalties are not based solely on whether an incident occurred.
The severity of the penalty depends on whether safety training was provided in advance, risky driving was monitored, and there is a record of action taken on anomalies.
Conversely, if there is no such record at all, the penalty may be more severe because it will be determined that you have not fulfilled your duty of care.
Different laws require slightly different standards, but the core is the same.
Monitoring risky behavior by driver
Regular safety training
Record actions taken on anomalies
History of regular safety inspections
The important thing is not "do we have a system?"
👉 "does it actually work and does it keep records?".
For example, a simple training certificate is not enough,
you need to know who took the training, when they took it, what issues they had, and what actions they took.
In order for a company to reduce its liability in the event of an accident, it needs to have a record of the driver's behavior before the accident, not just footage from the time of the accident. But a regular dashcam doesn't provide this information.
For example, in the case of a drowsy driving accident, the dashcam only shows the moment of the crash, but it can't determine if there were any previous drowsiness warnings.
With a driver monitoring system, on the other hand, you can prove both the history of warnings prior to the accident and the company's actions.
A.I.Matics' aidis an AI-powered safe driving solution that uses AI cameras installed in the vehicle to detect driver risk behaviors (drowsiness, distracted driving, cell phone use, etc.) and road hazards (signal violations, speeding, pedestrians in blind spots, etc.) in real time, alert the driver as soon as a hazard occurs, and automaticallyrecord all events on the admin platform.
Reducing the risk of 12 major at-fault accidents requires two things simultaneously.
Reducing accidents in the first place, and keeping a record of your management history.
AID addresses both simultaneously.
AID is not just a recording device,
it is a preventive AI system that detects and intervenes in real time to prevent risky behaviors and situations that lead to accidents.
Red Light and School Zone Speeding Prevention
Smart event detection recognizes near-violations and immediately alerts drivers → Prevent improper intersection entry and school zone accidents
Accident prevention based on driver status (Driver Monitoring System)
Real-time detection of major causes of accidents such as drowsy driving, not looking ahead, cell phone use, etc.
→ Correct driver behavior "before" an accident occurs
Multi-channel recognition that covers blind spots
Simultaneous recognition of left and rear, including right blind spots
Proactive detection of hazards such as pedestrians, motorcycles, etc. when changing lanes and reversing
→ Structurally reduces frequent blind spot accidents in large vehicles
Open Door Kick Prevention - Bus-specific safety feature
Real-time detection and warning of departure risks during passenger loading and unloading
→ Fundamentally prevents bus-specific critical accidents such as passenger falls
With these features, we stop the top 12 causes of serious accidents before they happen.
To verify the effectiveness of AI-based safe driving solutions,the Korea Transportation Safety Authority (KTSA) conducted a six-month demonstration project from June to November 2024, applying AID to 500 route buses of 13 transportation companies nationwide.
As a result of the six-month demonstration, all 12 risky behaviors that are the main causes of gross negligence were significantly reduced.
These results objectively demonstrate that an AI-powered safe driving solution can effectively interrupt the top 12 grossly negligent behaviors in the pre-accident phase.
Learn more about the case of the Korea Transportation Safety Administration →
AID automatically records all events, and even keeps a management history as data.
Automatically save event video: up to 2TB, stored for more than 1 month → Secure the cause of the accident and the basis for responding to complaints
Driver scoring report: Identify risky drivers + record training and management history Grounds for reducing administrative penalties
This data is not just a record, but actually serves the following purposes
Respond to the Serious Injury Act: Evidence of fulfillment of safety management obligations
Reducing civil liability: evidence of a lower percentage of company fault
Mitigation of administrative penalties: mitigating factors for lower penalties
In short, AID is a system that reduces incidents while
while proving that "the company was in control".
The 12 Deadly Serious Accidents
doesn't just end with a settlement or insurance.
It's a chain of criminal penalties, civil restitution, and administrative penalties.
In the end, the key to reducing risk is clear.
Reduce incidents
Have a record of having managed them
See how many of the following five questions you can answer "yes" to.
If you have fewer than three "yes" answers, you may lack objective supporting data that could reduce your liability in the event of an accident.
Prevent accidents and mitigate legal risks with aid, an AI safe driving platform that has been proven effective in a pilot project with the Korea Transportation Safety Administration.