"No Seatbelts!" Top 5 Page for this destination South Korea Warnings Or Dangers Tip by jburron

If you get into the back seat of car in Korea chances are you will not be expected to put on a seatbelt. This makes sense, as the traffic does move slowly here and many of the drivers give way and do not roar down the roads as in some places.

However, the facts bear a different situation. Statistics from 2000 show that compared to the OECD median rate of Road Traffic Fatalities Korea is incredibly dangerous. For fatalities per 100,000 population they are almost DOUBLE the OECD rate. For fatalities per 10,000 registered vehicles Korea's rate is almost FOUR TIMES that of the OECD. And for fatalities per 100 million vehicle km travelled the rate is THREE TIMES that of the OECD.

It may be due to road conditions (and lack of or misuse of safety barriers), the structural integrity of the cars here, the lack of airbags or some other reason, but the lesson is clear: Wear your seatbelt!

Also, children are RARELY restrained in seatbelt or child seats--many times they are in the front seat on the laps of parents! I even saw one lady in Pusan getting into the DRIVERS SEAT of her car with her baby in an abuba (backpack that puts the baby on the small of the mother's back)! Incredible. If you have a baby, bring a carseat--the ones they have here are very expensive and I've only seen them in department stores.

The flipside of this is Koreans are fiercely protective of their children and kin...how they can have them in harm's way on a daily basis is one of the paradoxes of this place.

Website: http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/e4e3096c63d5bf4fca256dea00053a3c?OpenDocument

• Written Apr 12, 2004
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