A Drunk Driving Accident I Wanted to Hide... My Cell Phone Reported Me

Automatic Reporting Feature on Certain Phones During Severe Impact
SUV Crashes into Traffic Light... No Casualties Reported

A man in his 30s who drove about 40 km intoxicated from Seoul to Incheon was caught by the automatic reporting function of his mobile phone.

On the 18th, Incheon Jungbu Police Station reported to Yonhap News that they are investigating Mr. A, in his 30s, without detention on charges of drunk driving under the Road Traffic Act.

Mr. A is accused of driving his Santa Fe vehicle while intoxicated on a road in Sinheung-dong, Jung-gu, Incheon, around 4 a.m. that day and crashing into a traffic light.

Fortunately, there were no casualties. The traffic light was damaged in the accident and was out of operation for about an hour before being repaired. Mr. A’s drunk driving was immediately detected due to the automatic reporting function of his mobile phone.

Some Mobile Phones Automatically Report to 119 and 112 Upon Strong Impact

Police conducting a drunk driving crackdown. The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. [Photo by Yonhap News]

Certain mobile phone models have a feature that automatically sends a prerecorded message requesting rescue to emergency numbers like 119 and 112 when the device detects a situation deemed dangerous to the user, such as a strong collision.

Immediately after crashing into the traffic light, Mr. A’s mobile phone sent an automatic voice message to 119 stating, "The user is unresponsive after a car collision."

Upon receiving a joint response request from the fire control center, the police arrived at the scene and conducted a breathalyzer test, which showed Mr. A’s blood alcohol concentration was at the license cancellation level (0.08% or higher). The investigation revealed that Mr. A had driven intoxicated for about 40 km from Yeouido, Seoul to Incheon.

A police official said, "Because Mr. A’s mobile phone model has an automatic reporting function, a ‘self-report’ was received at the fire control center at that time."