First-timers to Saigon are shocked on arrival: the dance of two-wheel traffic.
Some even had to flag down a cyclo (three-way cycle) to take them across the street. An Ivy-League Math Prof was killed when crossing the street. He was there for a conference on solving traffic problems.
I have slowly built up confidence and coordination not to fight traffic but to dance with it. Here are some observations:
– People ride on survival instinct and years of communal living: negotiating, turn-taking…
(unlike Western’s right of way)
– Expect the unexpected (scooters that go the wrong way)
– Traffic signs are not hundred per cent observed. In short, break all rules
– At rush hour, people tend to ride more slowly to accommodate heavy volume
– With the helmet law strictly enforced, there have been fewer accidents
– Almost everyone has been hit, ran over, or got a scratch. It’s a badge of honor
– When in an accident, people quickly blame the other party (emblemic in face-saving culture) then move on
– Buses, automobiles, scooters, cyclos, pedestrians, handicapped people v.v… all have equal right of way, but buses have louder horns and weave in and out of traffic per passenger’s request
– best way to navigate rush hour traffic is to take a “xe-om” (taxi-scooter) since these drivers know which alleys and arteries for short-cut
– when it rains, it’s best to stay out of the street, since available surface is taken over by undrained water (sewage problems).
Traffic don’t just get to be this dense overnight. It’s been built up over time.
The same with your capacity to become one with it. It takes time. In my case, many trips and trials (got whacked once by a wrong-way scooter) barely got me to be a member of the club.
After that, your next lesson will be how to stay out of the sun given a few shades left in the city. For now, watch in ALL directions when crossing, not just the designated flow of legal traffic. Survival trumps legality. Be brave and smart. Watch before you leap, but then, he who hesitates is lost.
If you got in an accident, blame the other party first, then move on.
Thang Nguyen 555 