By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Until now, licensed car drivers have been permitted to drive motorcycles with engine capacities of under 125cc without taking an additional test. But the National Police Agency said Tuesday it plans to scrap the privilege from as early as next year to curb an increase in the number of motorcycle accidents.
"A revised regulation that bans licensed car drivers from driving motorcycles will be discussed in a senior officers' meeting next month."
Once approved in the meeting, the new rule will take effect from the beginning of the year, it said.
"Motorcycles are different from cars when it comes to driving. But the current law has ignored this," a police spokesman said. Even if the bill earns approval, the new rule would not be applied retrospectively, police said.
According to the agency's latest data, the number of motorcycle accidents has increased in consecutive years since 2006.
A total of 1,916 people died in the accidents during the period. The death toll in 2005 stood at 399, but jumped to 472 in 2006 and 517 last year, the data shows.
Another piece of data provided by the agency shows an increase in the number of people injured in motorcycle accidents around pedestrian crossings ㅡ in 2008 alone, more than 1,880 people were injured.
The data did not specify how many accidents reported were caused by licensed car drivers without a motorcycle license, but a police officer said, "It's very high."
"Few countries in the world have a rule allowing car drivers to drive bikes without a license," the officer said.