3,301 Unlicensed Traffic Accidents Among Teenagers in the Last 5 Years... 91 Deaths
Experts: "Education Needed to Raise Awareness of Unlicensed Driving Among Teens"
Unlicensed driving accidents involving teenagers are occurring one after another. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Su-wan] Accidents involving unlicensed teenage drivers are occurring one after another, becoming a social issue. In particular, some unlicensed teenagers are using certain car-sharing apps to rent vehicles and drive, raising urgent calls for better management and supervision. Experts suggest that education should be provided to raise awareness about the seriousness of such criminal behavior to prevent unlicensed driving accidents among teenagers.
According to Hwasun Police Station, on the 1st of the Chuseok holiday at around 11:40 p.m., an accident occurred on a two-lane one-way road in Hwasun-eup, Hwasun-gun, where a 20-year-old woman, Ms. B, who was crossing a crosswalk, was hit and killed by an unlicensed rental car driven by an 18-year-old male, A. At the time, A and four peers who were passengers fled the scene for about 20 km without providing any aid but later returned and surrendered to the police.
Investigations revealed that the rental car was borrowed through a car-sharing app account belonging to a man in his 30s, Mr. C, who was a friend of A and one of the passengers. On the 3rd, the police arrested A on charges of hit-and-run causing death under the Special Act on Traffic Accident Punishment, and one of the passengers who rented the car via the car-sharing app was also booked. The account holder of the app was booked without detention on charges of violating the Passenger Transport Service Act. The police also applied charges of aiding unlicensed driving against the passengers.
On the 5th, a post titled "Requesting severe punishment for the teenage driver and passengers involved in the unlicensed hit-and-run accident that killed my 22-year-old nephew on Chuseok" was uploaded on the Blue House National Petition Board. Photo by Blue House website screen capture
Earlier, Ms. B’s bereaved family demanded strict punishment not only for the driver but also for the passengers. A petition titled "We demand strong punishment for the teenage driver and passengers who killed my 22-year-old nephew in a hit-and-run accident on Chuseok" posted on the 5th had gained over 200,000 signatures as of the 20th.
The petitioner, who identified themselves as a relative of Ms. B, said, "At a time when we should have been happily celebrating Chuseok with family, our entire family had to spend the holiday in tears at the funeral due to my nephew’s hit-and-run death. The teenage high school driver without a license and four passengers sped through a 30 km/h speed limit zone in a rental car, hit my nephew crossing the crosswalk, and fled the scene. I cannot understand why law-abiding people suffer such harm while those who break the law, because they are minors, do not receive appropriate punishment and why such incidents keep happening." They continued, "Please ensure that minors do not receive leniency, and that passengers and rental car providers are properly punished."
Unlicensed driving accidents involving teenagers continue to occur. According to data submitted by the Road Traffic Authority to Park Jae-ho, a member of the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, there were 3,301 traffic accidents caused by unlicensed teenage drivers over the past five years until 2019, resulting in 91 deaths and 4,849 injuries.
In particular, cases of teenagers causing accidents while driving rental cars have not ceased. Over the past five years, there have been a total of 405 unlicensed rental car traffic accidents involving teenagers, resulting in 8 deaths and 722 injuries.
Currently, rental companies check the validity of a driver’s license through the 'Driver’s License Information Automatic Inquiry System' provided by the Road Traffic Authority before renting out vehicles. However, this system only verifies whether the license is valid for use and does not include a user identity verification process.
The problem does not end there. Minors who drive without a license or aid such behavior face relatively mild punishments. As a result, some offenders have committed crimes again after causing accidents without receiving appropriate penalties.
The perpetrator A in the earlier Hwasun hit-and-run case was reportedly involved in an accident while driving a rental car without a license even before this incident. They also continued unlicensed driving by renting cars through brokers who habitually lend vehicles.
To address the issue, the government has introduced measures to strengthen the responsibility of rental car companies, but there are criticisms that these measures lack effectiveness. Although penalties have been increased, such as raising fines from 200,000 won to 2 million won for rental companies that rent cars without verifying driver’s licenses, illegal acts like renting cars using someone else’s account cannot be prevented in advance.
Experts point out the urgent need to supplement related systems and prepare countermeasures. Park, who investigated and analyzed cases of traffic accidents caused by unlicensed teenage drivers, said, "Rental companies check the validity of the driver’s license before renting vehicles, but there is a loophole because there is no user identity verification process."
He added, "It is necessary to instill in teenagers that renting a rental car without a license is a serious crime," and emphasized, "There is a need to legislate so that identity verification through mobile phones or other means can be conducted when confirming driver’s licenses."
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