"Thought They Were Vietnamese... Six Motorcycles Speeding Across Crosswalks" Reckless Delivery Riders on the Rise

Four motorcycles passing through a crowd at a crosswalk. Photo by BobaeDream capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Hana Na] Delivery riders on motorcycles have been repeatedly seen running wild, crossing crosswalks and running red lights.

On an online community, a photo showing a motorcycle passing through a crowded crosswalk was posted along with the comment, "For a moment, I thought this was Vietnam."

The author wrote, "When the pedestrian signal at the crosswalk turned green, six motorcycles crossed. For a moment, I thought this was Vietnam," criticizing the reckless delivery riders.

Photos and videos capturing delivery riders speeding through crosswalks are being widely shared on various online communities. On the largest domestic automobile community, videos from last year showed delivery motorcycles speeding between pedestrians on crosswalks and motorcycles passing through crosswalks.

Netizens who saw these posts commented, "Delivery riders, don’t speed on sidewalks and crosswalks. I’ve almost been in accidents multiple times," and "Delivery thugs riding motorcycles like stunt drivers, ignoring traffic signals," pointing out that delivery riders do not follow traffic laws.

Some netizens argued, "I know it’s hard to catch them, but please don’t pretend not to see it even when you do," criticizing the police for not properly cracking down on two-wheeled vehicles violating traffic laws.

Since delivery motorcycles are classified as vehicles under the Road Traffic Act, riders must use the roadway where the road and sidewalk are separated. Violating this results in a fine of 40,000 KRW and 10 penalty points according to Article 13, Paragraph 1 of the Road Traffic Act.

Nevertheless, some delivery riders try to avoid fines by painting over or folding their license plates to hide them.

Meanwhile, some netizens point out the reality that delivery riders have no choice but to rush for their livelihood and criticize the "fast delivery culture."

They argue that since riders receive a low wage of about 3,000 KRW per 1.5 km, they must complete more deliveries quickly to make a living. Delivery platforms may post so-called "malicious reviews" if riders arrive even slightly late, which pressures riders to deliver quickly, making it difficult to solve the reckless driving issue.

An industry insider said, "There needs to be alternatives such as realistic delivery times and delivery fees for reckless driving to disappear."