Traffic in Seoul
In proportion to its size, Korea has too many cars. The number of cars throughout the world is about 600 million, and the population of the world is 6 billion, meaning that 1 out of 10 people in the world own a car. But in Korea, 1 out of 4 people own a car. This is especially noticeable in Seoul, where 20% of Korea's population is concentrated.
Seoul's road facilities are very good, but because there are so many cars on the roads, the traffic is always heavy, especially during the morning and evening rush hour. For this reason, many workers prefer to take the subway or the bus. Fortunately, Seoul has the most advanced bus and subway lines in Korea.
The traffic lights in Seoul are red, yellow, and green as usual. Nobody wants to have accidents but they sometimes occur anyway. According to the 1999 statistics, 756 accidents occur every day in Korea with Seoul in first place on the list. Most accidents occur on Saturdays and between 6~8am during the week, so be extra cautious at those times.
The most dangerous thing of all is drinking and driving. This remains a serious problem in Korea because the Korean people like to drink often. However, during the holidays, or on special occasions there are check points set up to administer random breathalyzer-tests. If a driver's blood alcohol is over 0.05%, which is 2 glasses of soju, a glass of whiskey, or 2.5 200 ml glasses of beer, his license is suspended for 100 days and he will have to pay a fine of 500,000 ~ 1,000,000won. If the rate is over 0.1% the driver's license is canceled permanently, and he will be arrested immediately if the rate is over 0.36%. If a driver refuses to take the test his license may be cancelled immediately.
|
