Had a Nip? Hire a Driver to Get You Home

The car rolled down the street at 1 a.m. past several groups of rather unsteady men frantically trying to hail taxis, and rolled to a stop at the police sobriety checkpoint.

The passenger in the car glanced over at the young driver with a look of mingled smugness and relief on his face; the policeman saluted, held out his breathalyzer, and the driver said, "Substitute driver." No test, no fuss; the policeman waved the car on.

The passenger calculated that for his 25,000 won ($19) fee, he had paid only about 7,000 won more than the cost of a round-trip taxi to his home and back again the next day to where his car was parked － and had avoided the risk of losing his license by driving himself.

Designated driver services for those who have had a drink or two have been around for a while, but some users of the service may not realize another risk they were taking in the past by using those services. The driver was probably uninsured, because most Korean auto insurance policies cover only the car's owner and his immediate family. Although policies that cover any driver are available, they are considerably more expensive. The young age of the substitute drivers also could cause problems if they were involved in an accident.

But now a handful of companies have introduced policies which service companies can buy for their drivers.

Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance introduced such a policy last fall. The policy costs the company between 350,000 won and 400,000 won per person annually and provides unlimited liability insurance and collision and comprehensive insurance ranging from 1 million won to 100 million won for the customer's car. Samsung said it has sold policies to 320 professional drivers of 40 companies. Ssangyong Fire & Marine Insurance also began offering similar insurance late last year.

According to one service company, over 60 percent of its customers are persons who have had a few drinks and do not want to risk facing a policeman enforcing Korea's 0.05 percent blood alcohol limit. Other customers include persons traveling outside Seoul and those needing transportation for medical or work-related reasons. Most driver service customers have large cars, said Kim Sung-soo, assistant manager of automobile insurance underwriting department of Samsung, suggesting that most service users are fairly well off.

Seoul Call Service (www.daeri. co.kr), located in Gangnam district, Seoul, employs 35 drivers who stand by in various areas in Seoul. The dispatcher sends the drivers, who travel by taxi, to the customer's location. Seoul Call Service charges between 20,000 won and 30,000 won for driving in Seoul; the fare to surrounding cities such as Bundang and Ilsan ranges up to 35,000 won. First Call Service charges fees ranging from 20,000 won to 60,000 won, depending on distance, and promises pickup within 10 minutes.

Unsurprisingly, the peak time for Seoul Call Service is between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m., according to the firm. Just judge by the guys waving at cabs from the sidewalk.

by Limb Jae-un