Traffice in Vietnam? is it a good thing?

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Take a leaf from Vietnam http://blogs.straitstimes.com/2009/12/29/take-a-leaf-from-vietnam
December 29, 2009 Tuesday, 03:59 PM
Loh Keng Fatt says we can learn from the Vietnamese' traffic manners.
IT'S sad to read of more pedestrians being killed even as this is the time to celebrate the year-end and usher in another year of hopes and promises.

People die when they jaywalk and dice with danger on the roads.

Sometimes, they are the victims of motorists who speed and do not exercise the utmost caution.

The old are particularly vulnerable.

Some 11 of 31 pedestrians killed from January to September this year (2009) - or 36 per cent - were aged above 60.

I just came back from Ho Chi Minh City, a sprawling city of some eight million folks where no one seemingly pays heed to traffic rules.

At some road junctions, there are no traffic lights which means anything goes - both for the motorist and pedestrian.

So you see someone blitely pushing his cart right into oncoming heavy traffic.

You see bikes, cars, trucks, buses and bicycles all converging on one another - many with horns blaring - and seemingly not inclined to make way for one another.

But in my four days there, I did not see any close shaves or heard the loud impact of metal upon metal.

Just when you thought there must be a collision, somehow, like air currents, the vehicle or pedestrian manages to skirt around each other in the nick of time, without each skipping a beat.

I am not saying this is the way to go for Singapore roads but I also realise why the chaos in HCMC do not translate into tragedy.

I can think of two reasons.

The Vietnamese seem a lot more patient and good-natured, unlike the manic desire for speed here. While the Vietnamese may sound their horns, it is more to alert others of their presence - and not to bully others to give way.

Certainly, I did not see anyone giving dirty looks or making aggressive, angry taunts.

Another reason? Everyone seemed very clued in on what was happening around him, and reacted in the splittest of second, without any drama.

Being vigilant means that you are more likely to negotiate a traffic problem and scenario much better than, say, a Singaporean who thinks it is a loss of face to slow down for a cyclist or pedestrian.

In fact, I thought the traffic in Vietnam resembled a ballet, unchoreographed it might be but still a marvel of precise thought and swift action.

Singaporeans surely can take lessons from this, even though we have better highways, overhead crossings and many rules in place, including those targeting drink drivers.




comments?

Answer
No! I am Vietnamese and I've been there most people there ride motorcycles and traffic can make you feel extremely sick and make you throw up car transportation can be very dangerous over there!

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