The fast and the frenzied

The fast and the frenzied

This is a LONG overdue post. I meant to post this back in November or something but everything got pushed back. Every time I tried to come up with something to write about this topic I came up with nothing concrete. So I’m just going to write a series of points. These points are observations I have made about driving and being a pedestrian in S. Korea.

a. It just might be impossible or rare to get hit by a car turning left in a major intersection. I can only speak about the major intersections in my area. I noticed that the way the traffic lights run, cars allowed to turn left don’t do it at the same time when pedestrians are walking. In Toronto drivers making a left have to look out for on-coming traffic and pedestrians that isn’t the case here in Korea. I suppose the concept is sort of like the “advance go” type arrows in busy intersections back home.

b. Street names aren’t that important like back in Toronto. Just say I wanted to meet a friend in Toronto some give place downtown. If I say “Meet me at Queen and Bathurst” they might say “Oh Queen and Bathurst where the Pizza Pizza is?” Using a location to confirm the place. In Korea people tend to map by location. I have been never been given directions that say “It’s at the intersection of ABC street”. I get A LOT of flyers for restaurants, stores and other such things; I don’t know where most of them are because the maps given are done by location. The map will show something like: BOOKSTORE, COFFEE SHOP, APARTMENT BUILDING, all labeled and the store in question will have a giant star where its located. The map is no help if you don’t know where those locations exist. Funny thing is restaurants and coffee shops move and change of often here it almost makes no sense to me to use such locations on a map.

c. Where’s my seat belt?! That is a question I have asked myself several times getting into cars in Korea. At first I thought it was only taxis in Korea but after many trips in my teacher’s car it much the same. In the front seat both passenger and driver have a seat belt but in the backseat…. NOTHING! Needless to say there has been several instances where I prayed to God for my safety. Furthermore, children aren’t buckled in like in Canada. In Canada until you reach the age of 12 or a certain amount of pounds you’re sitting in some kinda baby seat. In Korea I haven’t really seen people buckling their kids into safety seats. During Chusoek weekend I saw many kids with their head sticking out of sunroofs as the cars speed down the highway. I’ve also been in a car where a two year roamed around the backseat freely because he put up too much of a fight to seat in the baby seat.

d. Traffic lights, traffic signs, and, other traffic regulations are mere suggestions; guidelines if you will. Many occasions I have been in a car or seen a car make illegal turns, speeding while making turns, run red lights etc. This is part of the reason why I reach for my rosary while in the backseat of such a car. Motorbikes, scooters, mopeds, and other alike vehicles are frequent rule breakers. They run red lights all the time. One thing I absolutely hate is they drive on the side walks. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had tap into the Spiderman within me to get outta the way.

e. GOT GPS?! Most cars on the road in Korea have a GPS device. Most drivers are heavily dependent on their GPS to navigate the busy roads. The driver punches in the name of the location and the GPS gives step by step directions to the destination. The GPS also tells you when you a speeding, and it also shows a real time display map of the driver’s location. I think most models can play music and have television. I know in Ontario drivers cannot have tvs anywhere in their line of vision. Tvs are for the backseat people. Not the case in Korea. I have seen people driving with the tv on right in their face on the dashboard. WHAT THE HECK?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!!! Traffic signs not really obeyed, no seat belts for the backseat, and you have the nerve to be driving with a TV in your FACE?! What also makes me laugh about this is in the car they avoid using their cells or go hands free. But what does that matter if you are watching tv anyway?!

f. You would think with all that I have writing I might have witness many traffic accidents. Truth is I have seen about 2 in the year I have been here. It was pretty much the aftermath of the accident. Nothing that required the jaws of life of anything. This makes me wonder about all the regulations we have in Canada. Not a day goes by without a fatal accident some where on the street of T.O. I don’t really think any one system is better than the other. But coming from Canada where are so many regulations about driving S. Korea’s drivers seem a little insane.