Cargo truck drivers required to rest after four hours on road

By 임정요

Published : Sept. 13, 2016 - 10:05

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Freight truck drivers will have to take a minimum 30-minute break for each four hours on the road under law revisions the government issued in a pre-enactment notice on Tuesday.

After the revisions take effect, all drivers of cargo trucks must rest for at least 30 minutes after driving for four hours straight, except at times of natural disasters, accidents and other extraneous circumstances, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. Trucking companies that do not obey the rule will be penalized with business suspensions of between 30 to 90 days, depending on the frequency of the violations, or 600,000 won ($540) to 1.8 million won in fines.

(Yonhap)

The government measures follow repeated accidents involving freight trucks, often caused by drivers exhausted from long hours of driving to meet deadlines and harsh working conditions.

The revisions allow for the punishment of companies that operate trucks for more than the permitted hours, with business license revocation being the maximum punishment.

Ministry officials said they will make more revisions to apply the 30-minute break rule for all commercial vehicle drivers. (Yonhap)

Cargo truck drivers required to rest after four hours on road

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