Korean Job Discussion Forums

[captain kirk]

U-turns. Painted on the road are arrows curving indicating u-turns are allowable here, at this point, in this lane. Often it's the extreme left lane (from which one would make a left hand turn) at/just before the intersection.

Or at a meridian before the intersection. Which means that if you're rightly in your lane you have to deal with cars doing their u-turns swinging in front of you choosing which lane to settle in. The furthest right, the middle, or the extreme left. Hordes of them waiting, impatiently edging forwards slowly to be intimidating, or justing swinging out.

I've heard the police are trying to clamp down on illegal u-turns in their ticketing. BUT I notice there are so many white arrows painted on the road, so often, allowing/encouraging u-turns.

What am I getting so worked up about? I hate them. I'll be coming along and there is a pack of cars nudging and jostling in a mob to do a u-ee. It's chaos. Accidents waiting to happen.

Another thing is the structure of the roads sometimes. For example a road that heads up to a newly developed apartment site. The only way to get to it is to cut across oncoming traffic. People get into the habit of doing this even though it's not safe, just like u-turning. Confidently assert themselves accross three lanes of traffic in a bee-line to get to that main byway.

The assertive, heavy on the gas hurtling around without doing much checking/defensive driving is what makes Korea the top country in the world for traffic fatalities. I've seen a couple of accidents today. In one case a guy driving a van wasn't looking behind while talking on his cell phone while doing a u-turn as fast as he could brake and turn. And I mean fast. Like he enjoyed the sudden deceleration, the force of turning, and acceleration but all the while not looking behind him, and talking on the phone steering with one hand. And this at night.

A u-turn arrow was painted on the road here. The person behind couldn't stop and smacked him. The other accident a woman was zooming up a ramp out of underground parking and clipped a vehicle parked up top.

Total charisma driving, haha.

[Sage Monkey]

[captain kirk]

Yes, right. I don't think this u-turn business is funny. If cars can't make a u-turn in one swoop they stop, then back up right in the middle of the road. Cars wait while they do this. It could be just ahead of an intersection where the light has just turned green. So all those cars set to go must wait while the hokey pokey u-turn guy is doing his thing, ass in the middle of the road. So often cars doing u-turns (either the one-swoop or the stop and reverse varieties) aren't looking behind them.

It's all very amusing until someone gets hurt. I've heard Korea has the highest rate of traffic fatalities in the world. Myopic, only looking ahead drivers with their impudent behinds potentially wrecking havoc. Insolent, egocentric, vehicular posteriors popping out of nowhere and WHAM.

[keithinkorea]

It's as bad with the use of indicators here, drivers almost never ever use them unless they are going to do something really stupid like a very dangerous lane change.

Only place I've seen more dangerous driving was in Indonesia, though I have heard Filipinos are often outrageous drivers and make Koreans look like the apex of safety in the driving world.

I have a theory that Koreans can't see very well at all, there eyes obviously work but they often seem oblivious to what is going on around them. They're too busy texting their friends, or looking in the complete opposite direction to where they are heading.

It drives me nuts sometimes.

[thekingofdisco]

What are indicators? !!!

You have to be careful, everyday I see at least one crazy moment on the roads, usually in front of me.

Actually only yesterday I stopped to wait for a Mother and her baby to cross the pedestrian crossing, the cars behind me honked at me, then proceeded to go around me and through the crossing. What a joke... Oh well, I hear some roads in China are pretty obscene to be on!

[funplanet]

indicators=turn signals

[deessell]

I think you have to realise that Koreans have not been driving that long. In fact I have had my drivers license longer than most Koreans (17 years) and I'm in my early 30's.

If you think the driving is bad here in Korea....check out Vietnam. They have about 13,000 fatalaties a year, and that's only the reported deaths. Although I have to agree with you about Koreans and the road. They don't seem to display much common sense.

[keithinkorea]

[captain kirk]

It's u-turns, in particular, that are driving me around the bend these days. I have a new motorbike, an enduro. It's a 350cc and has some quickness, and I'm just getting used to it. It rides high so it's top-heavy compared to a strictly street bike. I've been a few days on it and adjusting to the balance and increased power, respecting it. Backing off and looking around more.

If I've got to react to a sudden lunge by someone being assertive in their attempted u-turn (and this is anywhere) it's a tipsy balance thing getting used to the different motorbike. No sweat to the guy on four wheels who takes a fancy to a sudden u-turn. This happened tonight, a guy in a black car, probably had a few. You know, the black car which is usually a nice car, so the guy is 'rich', and as such can park in more odd positions, and drive more self-centeredly. Because he's rich.

I live near a boulevard. It has four lanes one way, a meridian, and four lanes going the other way. Every day, on the way to work, I see about seven cars lined up and almost all of them are spawning their u-turns. Three at the same time will usually spawn together. In different arcs ending in different lanes. The insistence here reminds me of being in the checkout lane at the grocery store.

Often those behind saunter up and insistently claim their presence, like siblings fighting over an inheritance. I'm here, they seem to be saying, and your demise is imminent, so pack your bags. You are already out of here, to my mind. And so they stand there basking in being served, while their purchases are tallied. Stubborn and firmly planted. Looking deliberately forward at the clerk, but locked in their defiance, attentively, upon who has been usurped for good measure, expedience, in the survival of the fittest customer. In the struggle to be served, haha.

Insistent, nudging forward, like U-turners.

[thekingofdisco]