Everyday city riding in Korea.

major tom

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No worries about anybody stepping off a bus? Was the left mirror folded back for lane sharing? I'd like to see more videos like this in foreign locals, interesting and makes me glad we live in the land of the free and more or less orderly LOL
 

PolarBZ

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No worries about anybody stepping off a bus? Was the left mirror folded back for lane sharing? I'd like to see more videos like this in foreign locals, interesting and makes me glad we live in the land of the free and more or less orderly LOL

The busses are very particular about when they let people on and off - it's only at specified stops - and they always put their caution flashers on before they do it - at which point, you know to go to the other side. And yes, the left mirror gets folded back for lane sharing (so it doesn't hit other people's mirrors). The right one sometimes gets folded in too, depending on what side is being shared.

I've been here for two years, and while the traffic looks chaotic (and it is), the level of "freedom" on a bike is greater. It's really a free-for-all. 99.9% of the time, you could do whatever you wanted on a bike - ride on the sidewalks, ignore red lights, cut through traffic, go the wrong way down a road, etc - and no one would bat an eye. Part of the reason for that is that traffic laws are really only enforced by automatic camera - there are very few police who will do anything about traffic issues. Now, if you make a wrong turn in a car, the camera catches you and you get a ticket three weeks later. But, the cameras only read the front plate - and bikes don't have that plate.

That's the one thing I'll miss when I go back home - not having to wait for traffic. In a car, heavy traffic is terrible and annoying and can double your work commute. On a bike, the trip is almost exactly the same, regardless of traffic. And I'd venture its safer on the bike with heavy traffic because when no one is moving, it's much easier to maneuver around them. The lights are ridiculously long. You might be sitting at a red light for five minutes, then when it turns green, you move up a few more spaces, and the light is red again for five minutes. THAT part is terrible in a car - but on a bike - it's always just the one light.
 
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