When you are reported for road rage

If you have been summoned, gather your own materials before setting a date.

• Take out your dashcam memory card and keep it. Footage older than the report may already have been deleted, so copy every file that remains.
• Write down the date and place of the incident, where you were driving from and to, and any passengers.
• If the other driver cut in dangerously or threatened you first, mark the minute and second where that happens.
• If the cars collided, gather photos of both cars and your insurance claim details.

Going to see or contacting the driver who reported you to argue can turn into intimidation. Posting the other car's licence plate or footage in online communities can also create other problems such as defamation.

If you make up plausible details in questioning for parts you do not remember, they will not match the footage and you will lose credibility. Explain things based on facts that can be checked on the footage. If you want to apologise to the other driver, it is safer to convey that through the investigators or your lawyer.

If you cut in front of a particular car and braked suddenly, or tailgated it closely to frighten the driver, special intimidation (특수협박) is at issue; if there was an actual collision, special assault or special property damage is at issue. Court rulings treat a car as a dangerous object in such situations. Even if you were not targeting anyone in particular, committing a series of violations such as running red lights, speeding and sudden braking that created danger is reckless driving (난폭운전).

Special intimidation carries imprisonment of up to 7 years or a fine of up to 10 million won, while reckless driving carries imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 5 million won, a big difference in statutory penalty. Which allegation the case ends up as changes the outcome greatly.

Explain, matched to the timestamps on the footage, whether you braked because of the car in front, a signal or road conditions, what the distance and speed relative to the other car were, and how many seconds it lasted. If the other driver threatened you first, submit that footage too.

After police questioning, if they find grounds, the case is referred to a prosecutor, who decides whether to indict. Separately from the criminal process, special intimidation and similar offenses committed with a car are grounds for licence revocation or suspension, so if you receive notice of a decision, consider within the deadline whether to challenge it.

If the cars collided, conveying an apology and a willingness to compensate the other driver, separately from the insurance claim, is the starting point for a settlement. If the other driver claims to have been hospitalised, check whether the diagnosis matches the force of the impact, but it is better to keep that dispute separate from your apology.

If you drive for a living, prepare a certificate of employment and income records, and if you have taken anger management counselling or traffic safety education on your own, submit those records too. Showing with materials that the same thing will not happen again is taken into account in deciding the outcome.

At the consultation, we look at the reported footage and your own dashcam together and separate what can be disputed as special intimidation from what should be admitted. We practise likely questions before questioning, attend the questioning with you, and submit a defense counsel's written opinion setting out the circumstances showing there was no intent and the compensation made. Dashcam footage needs to be checked before it is deleted, so if the police have contacted you, message us through the chat on this page.