불심검문 불응 도주운전자에 대한 법적 대응방안

Abstract

In accordance with Article 47 of the Road Traffic Act, many drunk drivers have been caught because police officers are not allowed to drink alcohol anytime and anywhere regardless of state or territory. Criminal punishment and administrative disposition are conducted only when driver’s blood alcohol level is 0.05% or higher. When drunk drivers are caught, what a large majority of them fear the most is neither fine nor imprisonment, but suspension or revocation of the driver’s license. Once a driver’s license is revoked due to drunk driving, it cannot be reinstated for a 12-month period. Indeed, this can certainly be a fatal blow to a driver whose livelihood depends directly on driving a vehicle. For these reasons, it is quite frequent to see cases of the random checkpoint from which a drunk driver desperately attempts to flee not to be caught. The problem is that a police officer cannot hold a drunk driver legally responsible for his flight even when the police officer chases after and arrests the driver who flees the scene to avoid the sobriety test. This is because there is no punishment regulation on such flight of a driver. This legal flaw may indirectly encourage such flight and cause a consequence that indirectly leaves a possibility to flee for a drunk driver who is already a flight risk. Especially, since a drunk driver is one of the most dangerous drivers, it is important to note that this may lead to a higher risk of traffic accidents due to the fact that a drunk driver fleeing the scene is not capable of making any sound judgment or of reacting with any prompt physical response. An at-fault party of a traffic accident may put in an irreversibly regrettable situation, and a victim of the accident may become physically disabled and may have to live in pain throughout his life, which may also completely destroy they of family. Therefore, a sobriety test disobedience or a flight offense must be newly recognized as a crime to establish the legal ground on which such punishment can be imposed in order to prevent these cases where a drunk driver refuses to take the sobriety test or flees from the scene.