just another American teacher in SK

I will never drive a car in Korea. 
All the controls are there ~ traffic lights, separated lanes, crosswalks, traffic signs ~ all of which are blissfully ignored by all the folks in automobiles.  Reportedly, Korea has a significantly high traffic fatality rate.  Causes of accidents include excessive speed (I have yet to see a speed limit sign), frequent lane changes, running of red lights, aggressive bus drivers, weaving motorcyclists, miscellaneous distractions …
Most major streets are good enough, even though there is generally no shoulder or parking spaces, which results in cars parked basically anywhere.  The minor streets are technically wide enough for two lanes of traffic, but when you take into consideration all the illegally-parked cars, the minimized driving space results in cars driving head-on into each other, lots of honking and backing up and turning around and shouting at the other driver with gestures …  you get the picture.

Even being a passenger in a private vehicle can be terrifying.  Generally, I opt to walk when offered a ride.  If distance is an issue, I will take a taxi (securely buckled in the back seat, of course) or a bus.  Even if the taxi driver drives like a bat-out-of-hell, he is a trained professional bat.  And the bus is a no-brainer ~ what car is going to mess with a bus?

Being a pedestrian in Korea is a special experience. Pedestrians should be aware that motorcyclists drive on the sidewalks and drivers of all types of vehicles do not always yield to pedestrians in marked crosswalks.

And, unless you have a serious death wish, do NOT ride a bicycle.  I was telling one of the fellow teachers how much I enjoy watching the bicycle team when they ride out from the city, usually every Saturday.  He convinced me to take his bike out for a spin ~ “oh, it will be fine.  It’s not exactly the right size, but you’ll have fun.  Go on!!”  Wrong ~ so, so wrong ~ what a nightmare.  Somehow, I survived … but I may never ride a bicycle in Korea EVER again.  I will be content to watch from now on …  thank you very much.

No driving of cars.  No riding of bicycles.  Just “ped” at your own risk.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 7th, 2009 at 6:10 pm and is filed under 1. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.