Lee Jun-seok, the Reform Party presidential candidate, announced the 20th pledge, "Three major innovation measures for school bus safety based on AI technology."
First, it will mandate the installation of a "start lock device" on newly registered school buses that measures the driver's blood alcohol level and disables the ignition if the limit is exceeded. For existing vehicles, the government will support part of the installation expense to encourage gradual adoption.
Additionally, sensors within the vehicle and the Event Data Recorder (EDR) will collect information such as impact intensity, number of passengers, seat locations, and seatbelt use in the event of an accident, transmitting this data in real time to the Korea Road Traffic Authority server, where AI will analyze the severity of the accident. Later, the system will work in conjunction with the fire agency's ambulance dispatch system and hospital information network to automatically assign hospitals based on transport priority.
As a dedicated organization to oversee this system, a new "AI Accident Response Center" (tentative name) will be established within the Korea Road Traffic Authority, building a real-time connection with related agencies such as the fire agency, Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the Korean National Police Agency, and acting as the control tower for automating accident response.
Lee Jun-seok said, "A nation that takes responsibility for children’s safety through technology, starting with school buses. I will establish a system that ensures the state effectively takes responsibility for child safety through an AI-based golden time rescue system."
The party noted that this pledge could be gradually expanded to other high-risk vehicle categories such as vehicles driven by elderly drivers, taxis, and express buses in the future.