Ruminations in Korea

Comment by Jodi

22 September 2006 @ 9:46 am

Regarding traffic accident fatalities, I have noticed that not a lot of people wear seat belts here. I remember riding in the front seat of a pick up (they same type of pick-up I had seen overturn in an accident by my home). The driver saw me buckle up and flipped out saying, “Best driver! Best driver!” indicating that he was a safe driver and I didn’t need a belt.

Also, I have noticed there are no backseat seat belts–not just in private cars but in taxis as well, and children are rarely seen in carseats or are buckled up for that matter.

The occurance of traffic accidents is one thing, and perhaps something not always in someone’s control, but I wonder how many of actual deaths here are preventable with the use of a seat belt, car seat or helmet?

Comment by Jeff in Korea

22 September 2006 @ 11:18 am

Jodi, you always seem to have experiences that are exactly opposite from mine.

I am impressed by the number of people that wear seatbelts here, particularly when compared to people back home in Utah. I haven’t actually counted, but I would say that 80 to 90% of drivers I see on the roads are wearing seatbelts.

All cars have backseat seatbelts, but very few people use them. Just like back home, they get jammed down in the seat and covered with potato chip crums, french fries (or the korean equivalent..kimbab?) and small coins.

The lack of car seats and improper car seat usage is frightening.

Lack of helmet use, or more frequently the improper use of helmets by Koreans is very high. For some reason, however, it has been my experience that foreigners are much worse at wearing helmets here in Korea.

Hmm… it seems that we disagree only on the issue off driver seatbelt use. Maybe it’s just life out in the countryside that makes people not wear seatbelts… dunno.

Comment by Nomad

22 September 2006 @ 5:55 pm

I too see people wearing seatbelts but what’s really disturbing to me is seeing a family out for a drive. Mom and dad are wearing seatbelts but the small kids are either standing up in mom’s lap in the front seat with their hands on the dashboard or they’re jumping around in the back seat so they can fly like human missiles if there’s an accident.

Comment by capt_kimchi

22 September 2006 @ 9:22 pm

That was almost ironic. But man! Keep your hands on the handle bars. I could hardly watch.

Comment by dg611

24 September 2006 @ 9:44 pm

I always have to chime in when i hear about traffic accidents here:) Having been involved in 8 traffic accidents in 10 years, 3 involving hospital time, I consider myself somewhat of a pundit on the subject.

In all 8 accidents, no one ever painted the street because there was no question of who was at fault. It was always the other guy (my dad always said i have a black cloud following me)doing the damage.

Of the 8 accidents, 4 were in cars and I was always wearing my seatbelt. I too have noticed that lately Koreans do tend to wear their seatbelts but I attribute that to the fact that it seems to be the only offense that the police will actually pull you over for with any regularity and cite you. The actually have the equivalent of speed traps for people not wearing seatbelts….one guy spots and a guy down the road nabs the offender.

As for car seats for kids…forget about it…I can barely convince my wife and mother in law that they are necessary 100% of the time…if the kid is crying…he comes out of the car seat…A lot of parents have the “my car is too small for car seats” argument or the “car seats are too expensive” argument. And of course the number one argument is the “my kids would never sit in a car seat” tack….My daughter is 4 and she knows that she can’t go anywhere in my car unless she is in her seat buckled up (which she does nicely by herself :)

Comment by dogbert

25 September 2006 @ 8:07 pm

Oddly prescient.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Comment by Sean

27 September 2006 @ 6:01 am

Jeff,

I am a long time reader of your fantastic site and just heard about your accident on Jodi’s site. Please accept my best wishes for a full and speedy recovery. Can’t wait till you’re up, writing and riding again.