This is pretty hard for me to believe, but whilst out on a recent bike ride I found evidence that Koreans actually learn how to drive. Based on four years worth of first hand experience I can tell you that Korean drivers rank amongst the worst in the world. They seem to have nothing but contempt and disdain for the rules of the road - I presumed they just didn't know them or that they didn't exist here. Korean drivers come in mainly three categories. Bad, terrible and slow. There are exceptions but every single day I see appalling driving and feel like I'm likely to see an accident when I'm out and about. Koreans can be very respectful and courteous people. IF they know you. If they don't, then they are prone to ignore your rights, step over you or fly past you - this is if you are a Korean or not. Nationality doesn't seem to come into it. Perhaps this is an older generation problem but younger drivers aren't so great either.
Asking my wife, she tells me that for many years people before getting a license people didn't actual have any practice on roads and they learned to drive on 'courses' such as in the picture above. This is frankly ludicrous. I passed my test about thirteen years ago and all of my (expensive) driving lessons and the test were done on the road, barring one theory test. That's really the only way you should learn. Now this has changed here (I don't know when though). Nowadays Koreans actually have to practice on roads where there is traffic. I ask myself if Koreans will improve their skills over time or will things stay the same? And how hard are these tests? Whatever driving lessons they have, surely they don't teach them to drive whilst using phones.
2 comments:
I beg to differ, while driving in Korea is extremely scary to say the least, the fact that there aren't accidents everywhere means that they must be very aware of their surroundings at all times and very adept at driving in those hectic situations of taxis, scooters and buses whizzing on all sides. Not to mention I have seen people park in the tightest spaces on a normal basis, parking skills like I've never seen are required to survive in this city...
Perhaps I am basing my thoughts too much on where I live, Daegu but here there is a selfishness when it comes to driving and respecting pedestrians rights. I spend a lot of time walking at night and it's gone past the point of being a 'cultural difference thing'. I find a lot of what I see on the road wrong. The fact that there aren't so many visible accidents doesn't necessarily mean that they are all great drivers. I am not really having a go at their skills, it's their attitude to other divers, pedestrians and the rules. I hope I'm not coming over as anti-Korean, I've been here for over four years and my wife is Korean. I'm just saying what I see. In general I think there are some rules (legalities) that Koreans neglect/ignore
Post a Comment