South Korea lets taxi drivers watch TV

ArticleData Array ( [Article] => Array ( [article_id] => 1124631 [headline] => South Korea lets taxi drivers watch TV [abstract] => A South Korean court has rejected an attempt to prosecute Seoul taxi drivers for watching television while driving. [keywords] => South Korea, cab drivers, TV [content] =>

A South Korean court has rejected an attempt to prosecute Seoul taxi drivers for one of their scariest habits - watching television while driving.

The Seoul Administrative Court on Sunday ordered a district office in the capital to cancel a fine of 600,000 won ($A560) imposed on a cabbie.

The city government last year passed a local ordinance banning the use of digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) systems while driving.

But the court ruled that the ordinance, which allows local authorities to regulate public transport, is illegal because it is based on a 1961 law that was later superseded.

A minority of taxi drivers in the congested capital convert dashboard screens used for global positioning systems so they can receive TV programs.

More than 21 million DMB devices have been sold since South Korea started the world's first such service in 2005, according to a state committee.

The number of DMB users soared to 17.25 million by the end of 2008. Police statistics show that watching the mobile devices caused 200 traffic incidents last year, leaving two dead and 351 injured.

Legislation exists to punish careless driving but not specifically to ban the viewing of DMBs, according to a National Police Agency official in charge of traffic safety.

A ruling party lawmaker has proposed a parliamentary bill prohibiting the use of DMB and mobile phones at the wheel.

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