I thought I misread this at first… but then I watched a report and no, it’s correct. South Korea just ruled that watching TV while driving is perfectly legal. WTF? Is it only me, or does this sound a little crazy?
From the BBC:
Cab drivers in South Korea can continue to have televisions on their dashboards, despite the risk of crashing, a court has ruled.
The ruling comes after a taxi driver challenged a $507 (£311) fine imposed by the local authorities in the capital, Seoul.
The city’s tortuous congestion led taxi drivers to install new mobile TV systems in an attempt to beat boredom.
Watching TV while driving was a factor in 200 accidents last year, police say.
Three people were killed and 351 were injured in those accidents, news agency Agence France Presse reported.
Entertainment
In 2005 South Korea launched a new broadcasting system called Digital Media Broadcasting (DMB), which beams television to mobile screens.
Over 17.8 million people now use the system, government figures show, although not all of those will be on car dashboards.
Last year, the city authorities passed a regulation banning their use in the front seats of taxis.
But when the law was challenged in court, judges ruled the regulations were illegal because they were based on a 1961 law that had been superseded.
Laws already exist to combat careless driving, but the city authorities had hoped to stamp out TV watching by taxi drivers by forcing them to remove their screens altogether
Like, is that crazy or what? Yeah, let’s all drive while watching TV! It’s bad enough to drive and try and text or dial a number without trying to follow a TV show or movie!!
<note to self: don’t catch a cab in Seoul!>
It’s not just cab drivers but also other people who are doing this. I’ve never been in a taxi where the TV was on, but I have experienced this in a private car – I was so shocked I took a picture:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/busanmike/512184507/
I wouldn’t worry about the TV so much though, because taxi drivers don’t need an excuse to drive dangerously to begin with, and buses are even worse. In fact, the roads are chaotic, and being a pedestrian isn’t much safer – a serious tip – never be the first person to start walking over the road at a crossing – it’s not uncommon for drivers to blow through red lights at high speed. It’s all very crazy! :-)
That photo is definitely scary!! LOL. Here in the US it did catch on for a while, with drivers having TV screens in their sun visors and sometimes on the dash. I haven’t heard anything about it for a long time though, so maybe it’s back out of trend again! The craziness of the traffic sounds a bit like when I was in India–though there it was a free-for-all and the lines on the road were merely a ‘guide’. That was really hairy! But, I hear and will take your advice. When I’m in Korea this summer (fingers crossed) I’ll always let someone else brave the crosswalk first!!