Riding Along with a Drunk Driver | A District Court Judgment Holding That the Charge of Aiding and Abetting Drunk Driving Cannot Apply Where the Passenger Did Not Know the Driver Had Been Drinking

The detailed circumstances of the trial concerning the punishment of a passenger who rode along with a drunk driver are as follows.

After drinking at a gathering with friends, A drove the taxi he operates with B and C aboard.

At the time, A's blood alcohol concentration was 0.045%, which clearly constituted drunk driving, and while in that state he repeatedly sped and violated traffic signals, eventually being caught by the police.

Accordingly, B and C were charged with aiding and abetting drunk driving on the suspicion that they had known of A's drunk driving yet allowed it to continue.

In the trial concerning riding along with a drunk driver, the district court imposed a fine of 2 million won on B, while it acquitted A.

The reasons the two judgments diverged are as follows.

At the time of the incident, A had drunk three to four bottles of soju and was in a state of insensibility, and he boarded the taxi while being led by C. The court confirmed that, even after boarding the taxi, A had not been aware that C was driving while intoxicated.

By contrast, it came to light that B had been seated in the front passenger seat and had even responded to C's reckless driving with laughter and approval.

The court held, “Because A, in a heavily intoxicated state at the time of the incident, committed no act of assisting or aiding and abetting C's drunk driving, the intent to aid and abet was not proven.”

In the case of riding along with a drunk driver, if a person rode along in the vehicle while knowing that the driver had been drinking, this clearly constitutes the crime of aiding and abetting drunk driving.

However, as in the case above, where the passenger was entirely unaware that the driver was intoxicated, an acquittal may be obtained.

That said, because the scope for recognizing the crime of aiding and abetting drunk driving is broad, rather than relying on emotional appeals and responses, it is important to obtain the assistance of an attorney experienced in such matters and to gather and submit objective evidence that the passenger did not know about the drinking.

The 🔗Drunk Driving and Traffic Accident Response Group of Daeryun Law Firm LLP works together with the Evidence Investigation Group and the Consultation Group to help clients facing similar cases respond in a systematic legal manner, so you are welcome to request a legal consultation at any time.

▶ A Case in Which a Client Charged with Aiding and Abetting Drunk Driving Obtained a ‘Non-Disposition’ (a Korean juvenile-court decision imposing no protective disposition)