Korean Job Discussion Forums

Drew345 · Joined: 24 May 2005

I bought a 125 cc scooter (OK, not a motorcycle). I have been riding it about 6 weeks here, mostly just to and from the subway stop. I notice that all of the other scooter and motorcycle riders don't stop at traffic lights. So, I usually stop and take a look and then go on through the light same as the others. What is the law about this? Can scooters really go through lights without penalty? This is all the stranger because pedestrians stand at red lights forever without even thinking of crossing. But that is another issue, sorry. Is it really not against the law for motorcycles to go through red lights?
Thanks,
Drew

thekingofdisco · Joined: 29 Oct 2004

of course it is against the law... like a lot of other things (such as riding on the pavements "sidewalks") but the police don't really care.

Be careful though, if you get complacent going through them, you could end up getting in an accident.

another one for bikers is the speed cameras, they seem unable to photograph the back plates. (But also beware if you are behind a car and a camera comes up, they will most likely slam on the brakes)

so be aware (and wear a helmet)!~

Captain Corea · Joined: 28 Feb 2005 Location: Seoul

Check out this video over at the Marmot's

http://www.rjkoehler.com/?p=2679

SeoulFinn · Joined: 27 Feb 2006 Location: 1h from Seoul

Are you serious? Of course you have to stop at red lights. Aren't you driving a motor vehicle that has to be registered and insured? Doesn't the driver have to be an adult, have a valid driver's licence and not under the influense of alcohol while driving? *D'oh!* What the other guys are doing with their lives is just stupid. Do you want to follow their example and put your life on the line to shave of few seconds? Besides, most of these other scooterists are delivery guys whose livelihood depends on being swift and doing as many deliveries as possible. I believe this is not your profession, right? ^^

I've seen scooterists and bikers get ticketed because they were speeding or ran against the red light. Becase you are a foreigner, you might get through, though. I mean that the police might let you go without giving you a ticket (ie. language barrier etc.). But why to take a risk? The police might let you go, but the first 5 ton truck or speeding taxi will stop you for good. And hey, the light is green for them.

EDIT: Aww... I have to be type faster from now on.

captain kirk · Joined: 29 Jan 2003

The courier drivers, the guys with big racks on the back hauling you name it, have to make a living. And the Chinese food delivery/pizza delivery drivers. Much more than taxis they brave the red lights.

And I don't think Koreans see a motorbike as a vehicle, respect it as a vehicle. It can do what it will, then, like something you can't pin down. Not like a car. A car has four wheels and can do damage to things like a stable ram. The driver and passengers will not be hurt while the bumper takes something on.

And pedestrians will be waiting by the road and not budge because a car's coming along at a fair clip but if it's a motorbike? Off they'll mosey sauntering along defiantly as if the motorbike is a peddle bike. Why? They know that, in order to hit them, the motorbike driver has to fall off, injuring himself.

Something as off-balance as a motorbike hasn't a leg to stand on. It's a daredevil contraption that exists precariously. It has its hands full remaining upright. The driver defies gravity and common sense. Don't bug him, people think, or he'll fall off like a high wire artist shot with a dart.

It's his life, they think. Defy gravity, defy red lights. Figures. Too much centrifugal force on the brain, that guy. Donormobile. Soon to be x'd by a taxi carpe diem freak.

discostar23 · Joined: 22 Feb 2004 Location: getting the hell out of dodge

as far as I understand....scooters and motorcycles are considered the same as bicycles.This is why you don't park them in regular parking spots but instead at bike racks (don't take those parking spots....boy the koreans get pissed) You can drive them on the sidewalk...look down sometime while you are walking...there is usually a part of the sidewalk with a bicycle etched into it. This is where you can drive your bike/scooter/motorcycle. Running the red lights is common but you will get stopped if you do it infront of the cops. When you are on the road its always easy to spot the foreign drivers because they are the ones obeying the rules.

Col.Brandon · Joined: 09 Aug 2004 Location: Seoul

Some guy posted a while ago that he got rear-ended (or was it just yelled at?) by a Korean who didn't expect him to stop at the red light! Of course he would have been partially responsible/liable for any accident just because he was there! Crazy Asian logic.

BTW, my wife is an ICU nurse. She tells me 60% of motorcycle accident victims die. Statistically, riding a bike in the West is about as dangerous as front-line combat. It's gotta be more dangerous than that here... Drew345, good luck, mate! Rather you than me!

captain kirk · Joined: 29 Jan 2003

As dangerous as front-line combat? Huh. I was looking into paragliding awhile ago and there's a board run by a doctor in California who paraglides and compiles accident reports. He puts them on the web so people can beware as they paraglide. And he said that the accident rate is one per 1000 flights making it about as dangerous as motorcycling. Accidents like twisting their ankle up to breaking bones in a fall from bla bla meters.

Motorcycling as dangerous as front-line combat? Isn't that where other people are trying to kill you? So I'm riding along on my motorbike, if this comparison is accurate, and pedestrians are shooting at me, letting loose cannonfuls of vicious scrapnel, and other dedicated treats such as nerve gas and crossbow bolts? Maybe it's time to take up golf. But then other players are firing little white balls at you. And I'm carrying this metal club in an open field and that cloud looks like it's sprouting lightning.

Riders in helmets and kevlar armour and do kinda look like SWAT guys without the black and camo. And some guys put those fake bullethole stickers on their fuel tank like they burnt rubber out of Bosnia.

ddeubel · Joined: 20 Jul 2005

Riding a motorbike or scooter in my opinion is "asking for it". I'd only do it if I were single and my life was "my life".

But this statement is patently false:

IlIlNine · Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Location: Gunpo, Gyonggi, SoKo

I ride a motorbike here in Korea...

... and I stop at stoplights. I don't mind waiting at the often unresonable-long red lights (not equipped with sensors). Sure, I see many people go through the reds, but they are mostly food delivery kids trying to make a buck. Even the couriers around here stop at red lights.

That said, I will always filter through to the front of the line...

Anyways, I couldn't live without my motorcycle. and... I love riding it. Especially in the country. There are very few things I'd rather be doing.

Col.Brandon · Joined: 09 Aug 2004 Location: Seoul

IlIlNine · Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Location: Gunpo, Gyonggi, SoKo

I find that most foreigners who complain about the driving here have actually never driven here.

I find it generally goes quite smoothly. Sure, I've had to become a little more proactive and a little more agressive, but I haven't had one accident yet - nor even really come close.

There certainly is a certain 'groove' to the driving here, but once you learn to fit in, it's not so bad.