Criminal Liability Of PT Jaya Saputra Transport For Negligence Resulting In Death: A Case Study Of Overloading In Balikpapan

Abstract

The operation of freight vehicles with excessive loads is not merely an administrative violation; it may constitute a traffic offense when it causes fatalities. This study analyzes the element of fault and the form of criminal liability attributable to PT Jaya Saputra Transport in an overloading-related truck accident at the Rapak descent in Balikpapan. The study applies a normative juridical method through case, statutory, and conceptual approaches. Its primary legal materials include Decision Number 212/Pid.Sus/2022/PN Bpp, Law Number 22 of 2009, Law Number 1 of 2023, and Supreme Court Regulation Number 13 of 2016, analyzed descriptively and qualitatively. The findings reveal an interrelated fault between the driver and the corporation. The driver continued operating a technically defective vehicle, while the company knew that the load exceeded the permitted capacity, allowed an unroadworthy vehicle to operate, and employed a driver without the required license qualification. The company’s fault can therefore be constructed as corporate negligence and systemic omission. Under the doctrines of vicarious liability and identification, PT Jaya Saputra Transport and its management may be held criminally liable because the offense occurred within an employment relationship, served the company’s operational interests, and resulted from failures of supervision and prevention.