Drunken Driver Booked for 29 Centimeters
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Can an intoxicated driver driving his vehicle less than 30 centimeters be punished for drunken driving? The police say: ``Yes.''
Goyang Police Station in Gyeonggi Province said Wednesday that it had booked a 46-year-old driver identified as Lee for driving while intoxicated.
Lee sat at the wheel on Jan. 28 after drinking alcohol at a restaurant and bumped a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) parked in front of his sedan, leaving a slight scratch, police said.
``When we arrived at the scene, the four wheels of Lee's vehicle were inside a parking space but its front bumper was 29 centimeters into the road,'' police said. ``If any part of a vehicle goes beyond the four lines encircling the parking space, it is reckoned as drunken driving.''
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court upheld a fine of 500,000 won imposed on a drunk driver by lower courts moving his car less than 30 centimeters forward.
In the ruling, the court said: ``It is drunk driving if any part of a vehicle leaves the parking zone.''