Features of traffic in Vietnam

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Vietnam is not the most common country for tourists in terms of traffic. In our experience (the authors of the site) traveling to the countries of Southeast Asia, traffic in Vietnam is the worst, a real "thrash". True, you should not be prematurely frightened, because if you do not pay attention to all the chaos on the roads, but look objectively, then according to the World Health Organization (data for 2013), Vietnam is in 42nd place in terms of road mortality, Thailand is in 2, and Russia is in 72.

Traffic policeman in Vietnam

Whatever the statistics, it is very difficult for pedestrians and drivers to adapt to road traffic in Vietnam. Here are some features of traffic in Vietnam, knowledge of which can help save your life, health, or property. The list is compiled from our subjective experience, and of course we discuss:

• There are very few traffic police on the roads of Vietnam, they can only be seen in large cities or on federal highways.
• There are no cameras of photo and video recording on the roads, at least we did not meet.
• At pedestrian crossings, no one ever misses anyone. Even if you go ahead, no driver will slow down to miss you, but simply go around or drive off the road with an audible signal.
• Motorcycles move on the sidewalks as calmly as on the road, and even under the very noses of the police. Tourists walking on the sidewalks are an obstacle, so they disperse them with an audible signal.
• In general, local drivers drive very chaotically and give the impression that they do not respect other road users and pedestrians at all, or perhaps simply do not know the rules.
• If local drivers are moving on the "oncoming", leaving the parking lot or a secondary road, then they expect that they will be missed. Even if you signal them, they will go ahead like a tank, counting on you.
• The usual signs of priority "main road" and "give way" before intersections are very few. Priorities for intersections are determined by the signs "Intersection with secondary road" or "Secondary Road junction", which are installed a few tens of meters before the intersection. If you do not notice such a sign, then it is better to skip all from all sides.
• Accidents in Vietnam happen, including with motorcycles, and especially in the rain. Be especially careful on serpentine roads of good quality: they all fly and as a result "fly out".
• Vietnamese drivers calmly change lanes just before turning or turning from the far right lane to the left, or from the second row to turn sharply to the right, so be vigilant.
• Drivers of cars and buses generally do not consider motor bike drivers to be road users, and rarely pay attention to them when changing lanes, turning, etc.