[Column] Traffic accident while crossing a crosswalk while riding a bicycle... What are the criteria for judging pedestrians?

1. Entering

Under current law, bicycles are classified as automobiles, so unless a separate bicycle path is installed, bicycles must be driven on roadways. Therefore, when attempting to cross a regular crosswalk on a bicycle, you must get off the bicycle and walk while dragging it. However, because these points are not properly observed, accidents occur frequently. If a traffic accident occurs while crossing a crosswalk on a bicycle, will the cyclist be protected as a pedestrian? We would like to look at the criteria for judging pedestrians through this related incident.

2. Criteria for judging whether a cyclist can be classified as a pedestrian

go. matter

First, let’s look at the legal issues in a case involving a violation of the Special Act on Traffic Accidents (causing personal injury) that I handled in the past. In this case, while the defendant was making a right turn, he struck a cyclist in his 70s who was crossing the crosswalk at a green pedestrian signal, causing 14 injuries.

Normally, if an accident occurs while riding a bicycle, it is treated as a vehicle-to-vehicle accident, but in this case, the prosecutor recognized the victim as a pedestrian, not a car, and prosecuted the victim. The law on which it was based was Article 13-2, Paragraph 4, No. 1 of the Road Traffic Act (Taoist Act). This provision contains an exception: ‘Children, the elderly, and the physically disabled may ride on the sidewalk if they are driving a bicycle.’

me. issue

The prosecution cited the exception clause and argued that a guilty verdict should be handed down. To explain this, a traffic accident involving a child riding a bicycle while walking on a crosswalk was presented as an example. In addition, it was emphasized that there are many cases in which similar cases were punished for violating the Special Act on Traffic Accidents (Seoul Northern District Court 2018 Goyak 877, Uijeongbu District Court 2019 Godan 2891 ruling, etc.). In addition, a precedent stating that children riding bicycles need to be protected in the same way as pedestrians was cited as a reason (Seoul Southern District Court 2024 Gohap 247 ruling). If some rulings say that children on bicycles should be recognized as pedestrians and protected, then there is no reason why the elderly and disabled should not also be considered pedestrians.

In addition, the concepts of ‘sidewalk’ and ‘crosswalk’ also became the main basis. The prosecution raised its voice and said that sidewalks include crosswalks. Therefore, according to Article 13-2, Paragraph 4, Item 1 of the Taoist Act, children, elderly people, etc. who cross the crosswalk by bicycle should be regarded as pedestrians.

all. Summary of judgment

The first trial court dismissed the indictment, ruling that the victim could not be considered a pedestrian on the crosswalk pursuant to Article 27 (1) and Article 13-2 (6) of the Taoist Act because the accident occurred while he was crossing the crosswalk while riding a bicycle. In particular, since the law distinguishes between sidewalks and crosswalks, it was held that it cannot be interpreted to mean that children and the elderly can ride bicycles on crosswalks.

In the case of general sidewalks, bicycles must ride slowly and stop temporarily as long as they do not interfere with pedestrian traffic. On the other hand, crosswalks are completely separate from the concept of sidewalks because they require people to get off their bicycles.

The judgment of the second trial court was no different. The second trial upheld the lower court's ruling, finding that there was no mistake in misunderstanding the legal principles claimed by the prosecutors.

la. commentary

The prosecution argued that children are protected in the same way as pedestrians, and that there is no reason to treat children and the elderly differently. However, interpreting a victim who crossed the crosswalk while riding a bicycle as a pedestrian solely because the victim is an elderly person violates the principle of prohibiting inference and extended interpretation, which is a derivative principle of criminal legalism, a major principle of criminal law, and cannot be tolerated.

Additionally, ‘sidewalk’, commonly called sidewalk, is an abbreviation for pedestrian road and is a road used for pedestrian traffic. Therefore, it can be said that its nature is different from a ‘crosswalk’, which is a pedestrian facility installed on the road to allow pedestrians to cross safely. Therefore, the legal principles based on the prosecution could not be applied to this case.

If a traffic accident occurs while crossing a crosswalk while riding a bicycle, the cyclist is not protected as a pedestrian. Also, in this case, the actions of the perpetrator in the case do not fall under the 12 gross negligence provisions of the Special Act on Traffic Accidents, so if an agreement is reached with the victim, the indictment can be dismissed.

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Lawleader - [Column] Traffic accident while crossing a crosswalk while riding a bicycle... What are the criteria for judging pedestrians? (Shortcut)
Korea Law Daily - Traffic accident involving an elderly person crossing a crosswalk while riding a bicycle... What are the criteria for judging a pedestrian? (Shortcut)