Man in His 20s Suspected of Road Rage Acquitted... Braked Suddenly After Spotting the Car Ahead Too Late

A driver in his 20s who was brought to trial on charges of deliberately braking suddenly and causing an accident when the car behind honked as he was changing lanes was found not guilty. The court judged that, based on a comprehensive review of the dashcam footage and the circumstances at the time of the accident, the driver had merely braked suddenly after spotting the car ahead too late, without any intent.

On the 30th, according to the legal community, the Daegu District Court in June acquitted Mr. A, a driver in his 20s who was charged with special violence and special property destruction.

Mr. A was accused of deliberately braking suddenly and causing an accident when driver Mr. B, following behind, honked for a long time while Mr. A was changing lanes on a road in Dong-gu, Daegu, in February last year. In this accident, Mr. B and a passenger were injured.

At trial, Mr. A denied the charges. He argued that, after changing lanes, he heard the honking and, while checking the situation behind him, belatedly realized the car ahead had stopped and had no choice but to brake suddenly. He also had no reason to deliberately cause an accident, as he was on his way home with an acquaintance at the time.

The court judged that Mr. A had not braked suddenly on purpose. This was because Mr. A showed no particular reaction after hearing the honking, and the dashcam footage also largely matched Mr. A's statement that he spotted the vehicle ahead too late. It also took into account that there had been no threatening driving or dispute before the accident.

Kwon Min-kyung, the Daeryun LLC attorney who represented Mr. A, said, "In road rage cases, the driver's retaliatory intent must be proven with objective evidence," adding, "We proved there was no intent based on the dashcam footage, the circumstances right after the accident, Mr. A's short driving experience and past history of a single-vehicle accident, and the fact that he was driving an unfamiliar route for the first time." He added, "Through petitions from people around him, we also demonstrated that he is not by nature the type to engage in road rage, leading to the acquittal verdict."

Reporter Jung Chul-wook

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Man in His 20s Suspected of Road Rage Acquitted... Braked Suddenly After Spotting the Car Ahead Too Late (Go to Link)