Constitutional Court Rules "Ban and Punishment for Using Mobile Phones While Driving Are Constitutional"

"Reduction in Traffic Accidents Due to Mobile Phone Ban... Does Not Infringe on Freedom"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Constitutional Court has made its first ruling that the former Road Traffic Act, which prohibits and punishes the use of mobile phones while driving, does not violate the Constitution.

On the 1st, the Constitutional Court unanimously dismissed a constitutional complaint case regarding Articles 49 and 156 of the former Road Traffic Act, which prohibit the use of mobile phones while driving and impose fines for violations.

The petitioner, Mr. A, was caught by the police in 2018 using a mobile phone while driving and received a fine notice but did not pay it, leading to a summary trial and prosecution. Article 49, Paragraph 1, Item 10 of the former Road Traffic Act prohibits drivers from using portable phones while driving vehicles. According to the penalty provisions of the same law, violators are subject to fines of up to 200,000 won.

After receiving a summary order for a fine of 100,000 won from the court, Mr. A requested a constitutional review of the law, which was dismissed, and then filed a constitutional complaint. Mr. A argued that "regardless of the convenience of using mobile phones, the blanket prohibition of all acts infringes on the general freedom of action of drivers."

However, the Constitutional Court stated, "Even simple operations of portable phones, such as answering or making calls or checking received text messages while driving, reduce the rate of forward attention and the ability to respond to sudden situations, increasing the risk of traffic accidents," and added, "To achieve the legislative purpose of protecting the lives, bodies, and property of the people, it is necessary to fundamentally prohibit the use of portable phones."

It further ruled, "Since the lives, bodies, and property of the people protected by reducing traffic accidents through the prohibition of portable phone use while driving are significant, this does not violate the principle of proportionality nor infringe on the petitioner’s general freedom of action."

However, it added, "Even though the use of portable phones while driving is prohibited, the Road Traffic Act allows the use of portable phones when the vehicle is stopped, in cases of urgent necessity such as reporting various crimes and disasters, thereby minimizing the inconvenience caused by the prohibition of portable phone use."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.