'Unlicensed Driving' Peaks in Summer... One in Four Offenders Is a Teenager

It has been found that the highest number of unlicensed driving accidents occur in August, during the summer vacation season. Notably, 1 in 4 offending drivers was a teenager, and a significant number of the accidents they caused involved personal mobility devices (PMs).

According to the Korea Road Traffic Authority on August 16, 2026, there were 14,512 cases of unlicensed driving accidents between 2023 and 2025, resulting in 361 fatalities. When the timing of the accidents is reclassified by month, 4,202 cases (29.0%) were concentrated in July to September. Over the past three years, there were 1,382 cases in July (38 fatalities), 1,426 in August (42 fatalities), and 1,394 in September (36 fatalities).

By day of the week, the majority of accidents occurred on weekends such as Fridays and Saturdays, totaling 4,494 cases (31.0%). The Authority analyzed this as a result of increased leisure activities and a rise in cases where people drove while their licenses were revoked or suspended due to drunk driving.

By age group, offenders aged 19 or younger accounted for 4,062 cases (28.0%), the highest proportion. This is largely attributed to teenagers who have not yet obtained a driver's license frequently using PMs such as electric scooters while unlicensed. In fact, among PM unlicensed driving accidents during the same period, 2,576 of the offenders were 19 or younger, representing 63.4% of all unlicensed driving accidents within that age group.

Unlicensed driving carries a high risk of escalating into serious accidents due to inexperienced driving and a lack of traffic safety awareness. In particular, since unlicensed driving among teenagers is concentrated on PM use, there is a need to strengthen safety education and management.

Kim Heejung, President of the Korea Road Traffic Authority, stated, "Unlicensed driving is a clear criminal act that endangers not only the driver, but also the lives of others," and emphasized, "Since traffic safety starts with basic compliance with laws and regulations, I hope that everyone will recognize the dangers of unlicensed driving and work together to create a safer traffic culture."

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