Perspective | Special Topic on Traffic Accident Crimes (1): Looking at the Subject of Traffic Accident Crimes from the "Road Beggar" Case
Published:
2025-02-20
In order to beg, Sun intercepted vehicles crossing the road, catching the drivers off guard. During the process of avoiding him, a vehicle lost control, resulting in one death and two injuries. A court in Nanjing held that Sun's act of stopping cars to beg on the road, while only 20 meters away from oncoming traffic, and suddenly waving a cane, caused the driver to have an accident while trying to avoid him. Sun's negligence created a dangerous situation, leading to a traffic accident. There is a causal relationship between his actions and the consequences, constituting the crime of causing a traffic accident, and he was sentenced to three years in prison.
Case:In order to beg, Sun intercepted vehicles on the road, catching drivers off guard. During the process of avoiding him, a vehicle lost control, resulting in one death and two injuries. A court in Nanjing held that Sun's act of stopping cars to beg on the road, just 20 meters away from oncoming traffic, while suddenly waving a cane, caused the driver to have an accident while trying to avoid him. Sun's negligence created a dangerous situation, leading to a traffic accident, and there was a causal relationship between his actions and the consequences, constituting the crime of causing a traffic accident. Sun was sentenced to three years in prison.
From the court's determination that the beggar Sun constituted the crime of causing a traffic accident, it can be seen that the subject of the crime of causing a traffic accident is not limited to the drivers of vehicles. Pedestrians can also be recognized as committing the crime of causing a traffic accident if they violate traffic regulations and cause significant accidents.
Article 133 of the current Criminal Law of our country states: "Those who violate traffic management regulations and cause major accidents resulting in serious injury, death, or significant loss of public or private property shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention; if they flee after causing a traffic accident or have other particularly heinous circumstances, they shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years; if fleeing results in death, they shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than seven years." The current Criminal Law, based on the absorption of the 1979 Criminal Law, deletes the second paragraph of the 1979 Criminal Law, which states that "non-transportation personnel committing the crime in the preceding paragraph shall be punished according to the provisions of the preceding paragraph," and no longer distinguishes between "transportation personnel" and "non-transportation personnel," clarifying that the subject of the crime of causing a traffic accident is a general subject. Theoretically, highway transport personnel, water transport personnel, aviation personnel, railway workers, unit managers, vehicle owners or vehicle contractors, pedestrians, passengers, etc., who violate traffic management regulations and cause major traffic accidents with serious consequences can all constitute the crime of causing a traffic accident.
1. Pedestrians can constitute the crime of causing a traffic accident.
From both legal and judicial interpretation perspectives, there are no restrictive provisions regarding pedestrians constituting the crime of causing a traffic accident, and there are no legal obstacles to recognizing pedestrians as the subject of this crime. Our country's Road Traffic Safety Law clearly states that units and individuals related to road traffic activities, including vehicle drivers and pedestrians, must comply with this law. At the same time, the provisions for pedestrian passage in Chapter 4, Section 4 of this law provide a clear standard for reviewing whether pedestrians violate traffic management regulations. In Guiding Case No. 1297 of the "Criminal Trial Reference," the Supreme Court stated: "Although vehicles are an indispensable part of traffic accidents, we cannot conclude that criminal cases of causing traffic accidents (the crime of causing a traffic accident) only hold motor vehicles and their drivers responsible. According to the provisions of our Criminal Law and relevant judicial interpretations, pedestrians can also be the subjects of the crime of causing a traffic accident." One of the key points in the judgment of the Zhou Moga traffic accident case (Case No.: 2024-18-1-054-001) clearly states: "The subject of the crime of causing a traffic accident is a general subject, usually involving motor vehicle drivers and other transportation personnel. However, pedestrians and other non-transportation personnel who violate traffic management regulations and cause major accidents, in accordance with Article 133 of the Criminal Law and relevant judicial interpretations, should also be convicted and punished for the crime of causing a traffic accident." The crime of causing a traffic accident emphasizes the harm of violating traffic management regulations to public traffic safety and does not require driving a vehicle as a necessity. From the legislative perspective of the crime of causing a traffic accident, there is no distinction between pedestrians and motor vehicle drivers; pedestrians can constitute the crime of causing a traffic accident.
2. Personnel driving non-motor vehicles can constitute the crime of causing a traffic accident.
The crime of causing a traffic accident is regulated in the chapter of our Criminal Law concerning public safety, which regulates behaviors that endanger public safety due to violations of traffic regulations. When non-motor vehicle drivers violate traffic management regulations, they endanger public safety and are naturally subject to the regulation of the crime of causing a traffic accident. At the same time, the Supreme People's Court's "Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Law in the Trial of Criminal Cases of Causing Traffic Accidents" states in Article 1: "Transportation personnel or non-transportation personnel who violate traffic management regulations and cause major traffic accidents shall be convicted and punished according to Article 133 of the Criminal Law based on the determination of accident responsibility." From the above provisions, it can be seen that not only transportation personnel can become the subjects of the crime of causing a traffic accident, but non-transportation personnel, including drivers of bicycles and electric bicycles, can also become subjects of this crime.
3. Water transport personnel can constitute the crime of causing a traffic accident.
Article 81 of the "Regulations on the Safety Management of Inland River Traffic in the People's Republic of China" clearly states: "Those who violate the provisions of this regulation, and vessels navigating, berthing, or operating in inland rivers, do not comply with navigation, avoidance, and signal display rules, shall be ordered to correct by the maritime management agency and fined between 1,000 and 10,000 yuan; in serious cases, responsible crew members may have their competency certificates or other competency documents suspended for 3 to 6 months or even revoked; if a major inland river traffic accident occurs, criminal responsibility shall be pursued in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Law regarding the crime of causing a traffic accident or other crimes." Therefore, the crime of causing a traffic accident can objectively occur in both road traffic and water traffic, and water traffic accidents should be included in the crime of causing a traffic accident as stipulated in Article 133 of the Criminal Law.
4. Aviation personnel and railway workers can constitute the crime of causing a traffic accident.
Regarding aviation personnel and railway workers violating regulations, leading to major flight accidents or railway operation safety accidents with serious consequences, Articles 131 and 132 of our Criminal Law respectively stipulate the crimes of major flight accidents and railway operation safety accidents. From the above provisions, we can see that personnel other than aviation personnel and railway workers who cause major flight accidents or railway operation accidents can constitute the crime of causing a traffic accident. Aviation personnel who violate traffic regulations and cause traffic accidents other than flight accidents constitute the crime of causing a traffic accident; railway workers who violate traffic regulations and cause traffic accidents other than railway operation safety accidents constitute the crime of causing a traffic accident.
5. Unit managers, vehicle owners, or vehicle contractors can constitute the crime of causing a traffic accident.
Article 7 of the "Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Law in the Trial of Criminal Cases of Causing Traffic Accidents" states: "Unit managers, vehicle owners, or vehicle contractors who instruct or force others to drive in violation of regulations, causing major traffic accidents, and meet one of the circumstances specified in Article 2 of this interpretation, shall be convicted and punished for the crime of causing a traffic accident." The above provisions provide judicial interpretation basis for unit managers, vehicle owners, or vehicle contractors to constitute the crime of causing a traffic accident, but there are different views on how to interpret the above provisions. Since joint crime refers to two or more people committing a crime with intent, and the crime of causing a traffic accident is a negligent crime, explaining the above provisions with the theory of accomplices contradicts the provisions of our Criminal Law. It is more appropriate to interpret the above provisions with the theory of supervisory negligence, which refers to the situation where the supervisor's failure to fulfill their supervisory and management responsibilities leads to negligent behavior by the supervised, resulting in harmful consequences. The characteristic of this negligent behavior is that although the supervisor did not directly cause the result, there is a causal relationship between their inadequate supervision and the result. In some cases, although the actions of unit managers, vehicle owners, or vehicle contractors did not directly lead to the occurrence of a traffic accident, based on the theory of supervisory negligence, these individuals have supervisory negligence responsibility for the operation of the vehicle. If they fail to fulfill their supervisory responsibilities due to negligence, they need to bear criminal responsibility.
In summary, the criminal law does not impose special restrictions on the subjects of traffic accident crimes. Therefore, individuals who have reached the legal age of responsibility and possess criminal liability may be liable for traffic accident crimes, including but not limited to drivers of vehicles and vessels engaged in road and water transportation, as well as unit supervisors, vehicle owners or contractors, pedestrians, passengers, and other non-transportation personnel.
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