[Cars and the Law] In the age of data, a traffic accident without contact can still bring liability

A vehicle does not need to touch another vehicle for its driver to face legal responsibility after a crash. That is the central point of this installment of “Cars and the Law.”

The article presents a case on a three-lane one-way road. A passenger-car driver hears a navigation system’s instruction to turn right too late and moves into the right-hand lane. A delivery motorcycle approaching from behind brakes suddenly to avoid the car, loses balance and slides onto the road.

The car driver sees the fallen motorcycle in the rear-view mirror but leaves without taking steps to help, saying, “My car didn’t touch it. The rider fell alone because he was startled.” Several days later, police identify the driver in connection with a suspected violation of South Korea’s Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, commonly described as a hit-and-run injury case.

The series, published with attorney Jung Kyung-il of law firm L&L, examines automotive laws and court precedents. It covers accidents involving increasingly complex vehicle functions, including cases where defects or malfunctions make the cause difficult to determine, as well as new legislation linked to the shift toward electric vehicles.

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My car didn’t touch it. The rider fell alone because he was startled.