Korea’s Darwinian Approach to Driving

Reuters is reporting that Korea has the world’s most dangerous streets:

The mean streets of the industrialized world are meanest in South Korea, which tops several categories for accidents and road fatalities.
South Korea led the developed world in 2003 with the most accidents per 10,000 vehicles, the most accidents per kilometer of roadway and the most road-related fatalities per 100,000 people, according to figures compiled by South Korea’s Road Traffic Authority.

(…)

South Korea had 137 accidents for 10,000 vehicles in 2003, followed by Japan with 117, Belgium with 90, while the United States and Australia tied for fourth with 85.

South Korea had 2.5 accidents per km of road to top the industrialized world ranking, far more than number two Turkey at 0.9 and third-ranked Japan at 0.8.

Here is what South Korea’s Road Traffic Authority says is responsible for the high accident rate:

“Koreans have a ‘hurry hurry’ culture. We only consider the results and the not the means,” said a spokesman for the agency by telephone.

The figures could also be attributed to heavy traffic levels in a densely populated country, the spokesman said. Simply not paying enough attention when driving was also a factor.

I am often conflicted on if Korea has the world’s best or worst drivers because the way people here don’t obey traffic laws along with pedestrians running around all over the place, I am amazed there isn’t more accidents here.

Koreans prescribe to what I call a Darwinian approach to driving. There is a food chain on the Korean roads. The buses and “Terminator” trucks rule the roads. Large Bongo trucks are next in the pecking order. Small bongo trucks, taxis, SUV’s, and cars are next in the pecking order. In last place on the pecking order are the many moped drivers. If someone gets in accident with a vehicle higher in the pecking order it is that driver’s fault for the accident and the driver of that vehicle will let you know it to by becoming angry and sometimes violent after the accident.

Sometimes it doesn’t even take an accident to make someone higher in the food chain angry. One time I saw a cab driver get out of his cab and slap someone in a car who was talking on his cell phone and didn’t go on the green light. The cab driver didn’t honk or anything, he just simply got out and slapped the guy.

USFK has had a handful of accidents over the past few years involving military vehicles hitting mopeds. You hear very little outrage over these accidents because the mopeds are the lowest on the food chain. Now if a USFK vehicle hits a pedestrian that is a different story because they are not considered part of the food chain.

Due to this Darwinian approach to driving the buses, “Terminators”, and taxi drivers feel they have free reign on the roadways to cut off other vehicles and break any traffic laws necessary to get them more quickly from Point A to Point B.

The police do nothing to stop this either. When I walk to work I have to cross a busy intersection and sometimes the police will stand with these gay looking flags in an effort to get drivers to stop running the red lights and causing accidents at the intersection. It has little effect because the buses, “Terminators”, large bongos, and taxis just driver right through the red lights anyway and honk at the police. The police just blow their whistles at the offender but do not write down any license plate number or get into their cruiser to chase the person down to ticket them.

There is another busy intersection I cross and there they have ajummas with flags to stop cars from running the red light as well. At this intersection no one dares run the red light because first of all the that is the main crosswalk for children to go to school and Koreans love children so they will stop there, plus no matter how high a vehicle is on the food chain all drivers are scared of pissed off ajummas.

So there is a number of reasons for the high traffic accident rate in Korea, but the bottom line is that as long as the Korean police is looked at as nothing more than Keystone cops nothing will change unless of course every intersection in Korea is manned with pissed off ajummas.

Nomad has more on this subject as well.