Illegal Riding Platform Left Unattended Leads to Fatal Rear-End Collision in Cheongju

An illegal riding platform (a step attached to the back of a vehicle for a person to stand on while moving) left unattended on a road in the early morning led to a fatal accident. At around 5:20 a.m. on the 5th, a 2.4-ton truck slammed into the rear of a garbage collection vehicle on a road in Cheongwon-gu, Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. A sanitation worker in her 20s, identified as A, who had been riding on the platform, fell to the ground and was taken to a hospital, but died at around 2 a.m. the following day, the 6th.

A was identified as a temporary worker dispatched for sanitation duties for the city of Cheongju. She was reportedly struck while riding on the platform attached to the rear of the collection vehicle at the time of the accident.

Police are investigating whether the truck driver, B, in his 60s, failed to notice the collection vehicle as it changed lanes, or whether the collection vehicle's sudden lane change was the cause. After further investigating the exact circumstances of the collision, police plan to consider applying charges of negligent homicide under the Traffic Accident Settlement Special Act against B.

Following the accident, the labor community raised issues about the state of safety management at collection work sites. In a statement, the North Chungcheong chapter of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions claimed, "Although the platform on the collection vehicle is illegal, no one at Cheongju City Hall ever pointed this out," adding, "This accident is the responsibility of Cheongju city, which has disregarded workers' safety and neglected the problem without any countermeasures."

Under the Motor Vehicle Management Act, installing a riding platform on a garbage collection vehicle constitutes illegal modification. The government also stated in its 2018 "Sanitation Worker Work Safety Improvement Measures" that riding and moving on the platforms of cleaning vehicles could not be permitted given domestic road conditions. Labor authorities also plan to examine the work method at the time of the accident and compliance with safety rules.