Everyone has a GPS - who needs a map? For a country that's about the size of Pennsylvania, it's interesting that they don't bother to navigate. Out in the rural areas where I am situated, there are also no sidewalks, which can be a bit hazardous in the dark or the winter, but I am careful.
Everyone seems to own something between a sedan to a caravan; if it's a mobile business, then they might have a van for their wares, but overall, people here are not a fan of huge vehicles. Maybe this is because that might be more dangerous, considering that most Koreans switch lanes very quickly and use their left or right signals only for a second or two. There are very few red cars, or any cars with bright colors. I think the most well known company is Daewoo.
The bigger the city, the wider the roads, but that applies anywhere. Only a few crosswalks have traffic lights with buttons for pedestrians to push. Their crosswalks are generally kept new and well colored. During the traffic jams, the block can last for a long time, but it's still generally faster paced than the awkwardness on a Massachusetts highway. When it comes to accidents, even a scratch is considered an accident here, so then both parties put on their warning lights right in the middle of the road and exchange insurance information. They don't bother to pull over to the side.
As far as I can see, all the Korean vehicles are stick shift. They also have an extra knob on their steering wheels so that they can make turns more accurately and swiftly, which is necessary for avoiding other cars, navigating tight streets in the rural areas and such. Some Koreans don't wear seatbelts - they don't consider it a necessity.
This is my first winter here, and they don't have snow salt. They use shovels, there are no snow plows, and they put sand on top of the snow which barely helps. Sometimes they also use water to melt the snow, which just turns it into ice, but I guess makes the area more flat.
It's not clear to me whether they make room for police cars and ambulances when these emergency vehicles have to pass. The emergency cars have sirens on them, but... While there are some drivers in the US who would let the other guy pass out of niceness or for the heck of it, that rarely or never happens here. There's also a lot less room between cars on a busy street. And if you're taking public transportation, the buses generally don't wait for people - neither does the subway.
Everyone seems to own something between a sedan to a caravan; if it's a mobile business, then they might have a van for their wares, but overall, people here are not a fan of huge vehicles. Maybe this is because that might be more dangerous, considering that most Koreans switch lanes very quickly and use their left or right signals only for a second or two. There are very few red cars, or any cars with bright colors. I think the most well known company is Daewoo.
The bigger the city, the wider the roads, but that applies anywhere. Only a few crosswalks have traffic lights with buttons for pedestrians to push. Their crosswalks are generally kept new and well colored. During the traffic jams, the block can last for a long time, but it's still generally faster paced than the awkwardness on a Massachusetts highway. When it comes to accidents, even a scratch is considered an accident here, so then both parties put on their warning lights right in the middle of the road and exchange insurance information. They don't bother to pull over to the side.
As far as I can see, all the Korean vehicles are stick shift. They also have an extra knob on their steering wheels so that they can make turns more accurately and swiftly, which is necessary for avoiding other cars, navigating tight streets in the rural areas and such. Some Koreans don't wear seatbelts - they don't consider it a necessity.
This is my first winter here, and they don't have snow salt. They use shovels, there are no snow plows, and they put sand on top of the snow which barely helps. Sometimes they also use water to melt the snow, which just turns it into ice, but I guess makes the area more flat.
It's not clear to me whether they make room for police cars and ambulances when these emergency vehicles have to pass. The emergency cars have sirens on them, but... While there are some drivers in the US who would let the other guy pass out of niceness or for the heck of it, that rarely or never happens here. There's also a lot less room between cars on a busy street. And if you're taking public transportation, the buses generally don't wait for people - neither does the subway.