'Bang' while trying to avoid a car in front that didn't have its blinker on... Law "inevitable choice" not guilty

Collided while trying to avoid a vehicle that cut in without turning on the turn signal... Indicted for ‘violation of safe driving duties’
The court said, “It was an inevitable choice to avoid an accident… Another accident would have occurred if a sudden stop occurred.”

A driver who caused an accident while trying to avoid a vehicle in the next lane without turning on his turn signal was found not guilty.

On the 22nd of last month, the Seoul Central District Court found Mr. A, a man in his 40s, not guilty on charges of violating the Road Traffic Act.

Mr. A was suspected of causing an accident while driving on a five-lane road in Seoul in 2024, when he turned the steering wheel to change lanes to avoid a vehicle that cut in without warning from the right, and then returned again.

The police determined that Mr. A violated his safe driving obligations under the Road Traffic Act and forwarded the case to the prosecution.

The prosecution found Mr. A guilty and requested a summary order of a fine of 200,000 won, which the court also accepted.

However, Mr. A objected and requested a formal trial.

During the trial, Mr. A argued that the victim had to hurriedly avoid the vehicle because it had cut in without turning on its turn signal.

He also emphasized that since the lane he had to avoid was a left-turn lane, he had no choice but to return to his original lane.

The court found Mr. A not guilty. The court ruled that “this accident occurred due to the victim’s sudden lane change,” and that “the defendant’s speeding up and overtaking to drive straight was an unavoidable driving act under the circumstances at the time.”

He added, “It is difficult to believe that the defendant should have made a sudden stop in anticipation of the victim vehicle illegally crossing the lane or made an unmandated left turn to avoid an accident,” adding, “Rather, considering the traffic situation at the time, there is a high possibility that a secondary accident will occur in the event of a sudden stop.”

Attorney Kim Yun-joong of Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Mr. A, explained, "Violation of safe driving obligations cannot be assumed solely as a result of an accident, and the objective risk must be strictly proven. We were able to obtain an acquittal by actively demonstrating that changing lanes at the time was an inevitable choice to avoid an accident."

#accident #inevitable choice #not guilty verdict

Park Seok-ho (haitai2000@ikbc.co.kr)

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'Bang' while trying to avoid a car in front that did not have its blinkers on... Law "inevitable choice" innocence (link)