As those in the area are probably aware, there will be a benefit at "Elvis" in Suncheon this Friday, from 10 pm on. It is held for Adam, a teacher who was badly injured in a motorcycle accident a few weeks before the end of his contract, and who has a baby on the way. He has a badly broken leg, will be off his feet for a year, and is facing medical expenses of roughly four million won. More information is available via the Facebook event listing.
He was driving without a license, so even though he had insurance the coverage was voided when he was in an accident and it was discovered that he didn't have a license. I don't know the guy, and was at first wary of getting involved with any fundraisers because, while of course nobody wants to see anyone get hurt, I didn't want to publicly advocate for a guy injured while being negligent and driving illegally. Friends helping friends is one thing, but I didn't think strangers would be too sympathetic to a case like this, with consequences that are fairly consistent to drivers in any country, of any nationality. Moreover I'm sensitive to motorvehicle accidents because of how destructive and dangerous they are, and to how common they are over here.
To their credit the people running the campaign have responded to some of my concerns, saying they're interested in not only helping their buddy but getting more foreigners aware about insurance coverage and the necessity of checking and double-checking license requirements. As the organizer put it to me, loads of foreigners he knows are driving around with useless insurance.
I had always heard that licenses were required for some types of motorbikes but not for others, and since I don't drive one I never paid much attention. There is a lot of information, misinformation, and conflicting information out there, and people just seem to do whatever they want, and give advice based on personal experience and their interpretation of quote-unquote rules and regulations. A few recent Dave's threads on the topic are below:
* Scooter over 100 cc need License and Insurance
* Motorcycle stops, DL license enforcement
* Motorcycle license Law Change
* insurance on car/bike but no license?
* The OFFICIAL motorcycle/Scooter thread!
* FAQ: Motorcycles: Getting them registered and licensed
The moral of the story is figure out what paperwork you need to ride your bike or scooter. That won't prevent an accident, but will help alleviate some of the financial and legal pain if you are in one.
They will be setting up a bank account if anybody would like to wire a little something, and I'll pass along the details when I get them.
2 comments:
Good on yah BiJ.
I've survived a couple of years of riding a 125cc around Gwangju. Endless months of riding atop a freedom machine can quickly become endless seconds of being on, beside or under a death trap on two wheels. Red tape, mangled language and barbed wire cultural barriers do nothing to liberate one from unfortunate circumstance. I'll come along to any fundraiser in Jeollanamdo. Let us know the details.
Thanks for the visit, and welcome back to Korea, Julian.
I was tempted to buy a scooter or something while living out in the sticks, but ultimately I was just too scared. No way I'd feel completely safe driving through that town's one main street, and I'd be absolutely terrified of something even Suncheon's size.
That fundraiser is tomorrow (Friday) from 10 pm on at Elvis. I'm not going, and don't really hit the bar scene here, but as soon as I get bank details I'll put them up.
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