Delivery robot, a pedestrian?

기사 본문 영역 Recently, in some areas, delivery robots have been introduced and are being tested on actual streets. However, if a car hits one of these robots on the road, who bears the greater responsibility? First, reporter Jin Seon-min has the story. [Report] Last month, on a side street in Seoul. A vehicle making a right turn collides with something and comes to a stop. ["Oh..."] After a moment, the driver cautiously tries to move the vehicle again but hesitates once more. What collided with the car was none other than a delivery robot. Due to its small size, it is not easily noticeable to drivers. [Delivery Robot Accident Driver: "I heard a scraping sound and thought I had hit something, so I looked to the side but couldn't see anything. I thought it might have been a stone, so I moved forward a bit more and then heard another scraping sound..."] Even after colliding with the car, the delivery robot remained stationary on the road, resulting in two consecutive contact accidents. What was even more absurd was what the driver was told by the insurance company afterward. [Delivery Robot Accident Driver: "'In the case of delivery robots, they are treated as pedestrians, so if that's the case, then the pedestrian is always the victim, and we cannot assess the ratio of fault at this time.']" If a delivery robot is involved in a collision, it is classified as a 'pedestrian accident,' meaning the driver is generally held responsible. When the delivery robots were introduced in 2023, they were granted 'pedestrian' status through a legal amendment. This was necessary for the delivery robots to operate on sidewalks. [Jeong Kyeong-il/Traffic Accident Lawyer: "Granting pedestrian status is an exceptional allowance for them to use the sidewalk. It is difficult to extend this interpretation to protect vehicles from such robots. Delivery should not take precedence over traffic."] In 2024, a collision occurred in Songdo, Incheon, between a delivery robot that ran a red light and a passenger car while crossing a pedestrian crossing. KBS News, Jin Seon-min. ■ 제보하기 ▷ 카카오톡 : 'KBS제보' 검색, 채널 추가 ▷ 전화 : 02-781-1234, 4444 ▷ 이메일 : kbs1234@kbs.co.kr ▷ 유튜브, 네이버, 다음에서도 KBS뉴스를 구독해주세요! 이 기사가 좋으셨다면 - 좋아요 0 - 응원해요 0 - 후속 원해요 0 오늘의 핫 클릭 실시간 뜨거운 관심을 받고 있는 뉴스