Taxis run by companies caused fewer car accidents after most of them installed black boxes, while a bill that requires all vehicles to be equipped with black boxes awaits parliamentary approval.

The number of accidents involving company-run cabs fell 17.7 percent from 2007 to 20,331 last year, when most cabs were equipped with black boxes, according to the General Insurance Association of Korea and the Korea Transportation Institute.

Starting with Incheon in 2008, local governments had black boxes installed on cabs nationwide.

The number of deaths caused by company-run taxi accidents dropped 18.9 percent from 2007 to 184 last year. The number of people injured in cab accidents declined 19.1 percent to 31,205 over the same period.

“Considering that the number of car accidents in Korea rose 4.7 percent over the same period, black boxes appear to meet the drivers’ expectation that they would reduce car accidents,” the insurers’ association and the think tank said.

About 1.5 million vehicles, including passenger cars, or 7 percent of all registered vehicles in Korea, were estimated to be equipped with black boxes as of the end of last year.

The retail price of a black box for cars, which automatically records the images before and after a car accident, as well as its location, the vehicle’s speed and acceleration, is between 150,000 and 200,000 won.

Several insurers offer 3-5 percent insurance premium discounts for cars with black boxes installed.

A revised bill that requires all vehicles to be equipped with black boxes was submitted last year but was scrapped as the 18th National Assembly closed. Rep. Lee Sang-min of the United Democratic Party laid out the bill again this year and the 19th National Assembly is expected to pass it soon.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)