South Korea to punish drivers watching TV

[unreal.livejournal.com]

South Korean police said Monday they would propose a new law to punish drivers watching television, following a public outcry over the death of three cyclists last week.

The current law bans drivers from watching dashboard-mounted televisions while driving, but there is no specific penalty.

The televisions, widely used in tech-savvy South Korea, are programmed to cut out when vehicles are in motion but can be easily reconfigured to stay on.

Police said a new law would soon be submitted to parliament.

"There is a public consensus that drivers watching... TVs must be punished", the National Police Agency said in a statement.

A truck driver killed three professional women cyclists in an accident at Euiseong, 330 kilometres (205 miles) southeast of Seoul, last Tuesday.

The driver admitted he was watching television at the time. He was arrested for dangerous driving, not for watching the screen.

Police said many drivers watch television while driving, and residents say some Seoul taxi drivers are among the culprits.
Official data showed 5,505 people were killed in 226,878 auto accidents in 2010 in South Korea.

Source: yahoo
I CAN NOT BELIEVE THIS D: THIS CAN'T BE REAL. I'M SHOCKED

Comments

[laeryn.livejournal.com]

drivers watching... TVs must be punished

Did it really take this long to realize such thing? wow, genius -.-'

[gyuri.livejournal.com]

they have those in america too.
i once saw a dude watching porn on his.

[cettefemme90.livejournal.com]

Ohhhh :(

[genie17.livejournal.com]

Keep your eyes on the road people. sheesh

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

So it took them that long to realize that watching TV while driving ain't a good thing.
I'm impressed

[oonalala.livejournal.com]

I don't understand why anyone needs a dashboard mounted tv in their car. The one's for the backseats to keep your kids quiet on long trips, that I understand. Is there some legit reason for televisions in the fronts seats that I'm not getting?

[paigeeybby.livejournal.com]

The radio isnt exciting enough?? I have no idea. Seems pretty stupid that TV is so important to some people that they cant drive a few mins without it.

[hiphopatihopxx.livejournal.com]

my host dad would always drive and watch tv at the same time while i was in korea. it scared me so much and my host siblings rarely wore their seat beats so i was always like o_O. i never understood why their gps thing let them watch tv but when they would go over the speed limit the thing would freak out. it was amusing though watching like inkigayo or we got married when we were driving somewhere.

[cettefemme90.livejournal.com]

Whoever decided that having TVs in cars was a good idea should be shot, helped up, and then shot again.

I kid, but still...what a terrible idea.

[sirhin.livejournal.com]

How do you know if the driver's watching the TV or if it's the passengers?
Most likely - both. hahaha...

[luvey.livejournal.com]

The current law bans drivers from watching dashboard-mounted televisions while driving, but there is no specific penalty

i don't think i will understand having a law, and not having a penalty if someone breaks that law. sorry but it's kinda ass backwards to make a penalty AFTER someone breaks a the law, and people lost their lives.

[falling-empress.livejournal.com]

yeah...how can you even call it a law if there are no repercussions?!

[frantastic.livejournal.com]

well, there's a principle in law where you can't create a penalty for an already committed crime. Basically, retroactivity is forbidden in penal law, unless it benefits the criminal.

So regardless the creation of this law, and if it indeed proposed a penalty, the truck driver would be unaffected by it.

Maybe the penalty is still under discussion, who knows.

[luvey.livejournal.com]

my whole point was, why would one create a law and NOT create a penalty/consequence to go with it in the first place.

[sai12.livejournal.com]

Omg wow they're actually doing it!! Good job Korea! Way to step up immediately.

[falling-empress.livejournal.com]

seriously did korea run out of fucking common sense or something?!

[xcherryblossomx.livejournal.com]

I have seen them here is Mexico too. And I am pretty sure only some areas in the country have law against driving while on the phone or texting.

[chibi-rei.livejournal.com]

residents say some Seoul taxi drivers are among the culprits.

It ain't just Seoul, people. I've gotten in plenty of taxis here where the driver was watching TV.

[episkia.livejournal.com]

............ there is not one taxi driver in korea who isn't watching tv.

the gps screen thing along with having the coolest 3D images for the roads and special monuments on the way, can also flick through tv channels. so y'know. i'm pretty sure there are more death tolls in the accidents caused by not having to wear seat belts though.

[lonelymoon.livejournal.com]

About fucking time.

[monster-mutt.livejournal.com]

Probably half of people with licenses shouldn't be driving PERIOD. Some of them are watching fucking TV?!