W.Minh Tuan
Riding bicycles, motorbikes, cars, walking on the streets of Hanoi is dangerous.
Because there are too many people in Hanoi who do not respect traffic laws, and perhaps the traffic police cannot be arranged at every turn to detect and handle violators.
The first is to run passing a red light.
I noticed that Saigon people, Da Nang people rarely run ignoring red lights. But people in Hanoi run a lot over red lights. If there is a red light, most people stop, but about 20% of traffic users in Hanoi do not stop, still calmly cross the red light.
And surprisingly, not only young people with tattooed arms running through red lights, but also old women, young girls, wearing short skirts, educated-looking students, mothers take their children to kindergarten, old women take their grandchildren to school or pick them up back home, pious husbands carry their wives behind,,, also run passing red lights. They ran over the red light blatantly in front of the whole forest of people who were patiently stopping to wait for the red light, not at all embarrassed.
I guess many people run over red lights not because they are in a hurry, but just because of the habit of not caring about the law, the habit of not respecting the law.
And while the whole forest of people was waiting for the red light, the other red light passers were also honking their horns, trying to get past from behind, to get ahead, and then pass the red light without any shame.
Hanoians in general are very patient, they quietly let the other violated people honking loudly to wriggle past, no one said anything, no one objected, all were silent to avoid causing trouble.
I always wait patiently for the red light, and also be silent before the people who run through the red light.
Second, the light has not gone green, but people go, and the light is red but people still does not stop.
Try going at the intersection of Giai Phong – Le Duan – Dai Co Viet – Xa Dan streets and you will immediately see this chaotical crossroads scene, but the traffic police can’t do anything.
The countdown red traffic light is still at 10, 9, 8, 7, ,,, has never been 0, has never turned green, then the people on the red light side has already sped across the road.
As for the green light side, when the light has turned red, and counting down 60, 59, 58,,,red, people still don’t stop, keep going, even the bulky bus, even trucks, taxis, and motorbikes and bicycles, of course, still go.
So these two traffic lanes, the light side is not green but went too early, and the light side is already red but still keeps going without stopping, always meet at the intersection of Giai Phong-Le Duan-Dai Co Viet streets– Xa Dan, and they have to wait for each other to pass before they can go.
Therefore, both traffic flows ignoring through the red light, and green light, even if they want to go faster, but they still go slowly, because they still have to wait for each other, otherwise they will crash into each other.
Everyone sees this red-green light crossing as meaningless, not helping them to go faster, but people in Hanoi still go the same way, without fixing anything, no change.
And the traffic police are obviously helpless, because they can’t do anything in front of the whole forest of vehicles.
And when the red light has stopped, there are still people who deliberately run through the red light, blatantly running past me.
So when walking on the street in Hanoi, never say that you are on the green light side, you have the right to go.
Never think like that. But always be careful that in Hanoi, the green light does not guarantee you to go safely.
And not only at that Le Duan-Dai Co Viet intersection, but at any intersection with traffic lights in Hanoi, there is a phenomenon that the light has not gone green, but vehicles start to run, and the light has gone red, but people do not stop.
The third is to steal the road to turn left, turn right, or go over.
Traffic laws clearly stipulate that people turning left and right must give way to people going straight. If you want to turn left, turn right, you have to wait for the opposite vehicle to go straight first, then you can turn.
But no, most people steal each other’s way.
The turner will try to press on the accelerator to go ahead, and turn, cut right through the front of the vehicle going in the opposite direction.
As for the vehicle going in the same direction, the vehicle following behind but wants to turn, according to traffic laws, must wait for the vehicle in front to go through the first turn, then the vehicle following and wants to turn will turn later.
But not.
The driver behind, who wants to turn, often presses the accelerator to overtake, and turns right in front of the vehicle in front, causing the other vehicle to have to brake quickly to stop to avoid hitting the front of the vehicle.
I have been overtaken in front of my motorbike countless times, very dangerous. So every time I go to a fork, an intersection, and in general on the road, I always have to pay attention to the vehicles behind, because I can be crossed at any time.
Fourth, do not give way to pedestrians.
Traffic laws say that all vehicles must yield to pedestrians, especially when pedestrians cross the street where there is a white pedestrian crossing.
But no, don’t be too confident in your priorities.
I have walked across the street many times, when there is a green light, but there are still many vehicals running through the red light blocking my way, causing me to stop and give the right-of-way to the vehicle that has violated passing the other red light.
Sometimes I just cross the street, pointing my hands at the red light to let people who are going to run the red light to pay attention, don’t run ignoring the red light to hit me. But and there are still a few vehicles that don’t see my silly finger gestures as a rusty nail.
Fifth, is to use the whistle too much
I have been driving motorbikes and cars for many years, never using a horn. Hitting the horn means that we want to warn of danger, or want to pass first.
I pose no danger to anyone, and never want to get ahead. Every time you hold the steering wheel, you are determined to drive slowly, not going anywhere in a hurry, but in a hurry is the thing that you can’t.
The recent continuous traffic accident on the outskirts of Hanoi shows that wanting to hurry brings the opposite consequences, both having a traffic accident for yourself, and causing injury and death to others, and being prosecuted, silly logic, it takes years.
Then what for a hurry for a few minutes?
But there are many Hanoians who still seem to be always in a hurry, always honking their horns to cross the road. The road is blocked, the traffic is inching up little by little, but those guys are to use the whistle too much.
Yes, please go ahead, can you pass? Is there somewhere to pass? Vehicles are parked on the road so that even chickens are hard to get a foothold, so where do you get a place to pass and honk the horn?
People in Saigon and Da Nang use less whistles than Hanoians.
A girl from Da Nang but living and working in Hanoi told me that “we Da Nang people are simpler and gentler than Hanoians”.
I think maybe right. Just the loud honking of the vehicles horn shows that we Hanoians are joyfuller than Da Nang people.
Seeing phone when driving
Whenever I see someone looking at their phone, so as to looking for directions, or just some gossip talking on phone, when driving a motorbike or a car, I’m amazed at the sense.
Why is that guy so skillful?
But that skill is fraught with danger. How many traffic accidents have been caused by calling phone, seeing phone when driving.
But Vietnam is a really relaxing, comfortable country. In foreign countries, the offense of driving, making a phone call, or looking at a mobile phone is the most severe penalty, usually a hundred dollar fine, and a driver’s license punching hole, even loss of driver’s license. But in Vietnam, in Hanoi, I have not seen a case that while looking at the phone and driving, nothing has been handled.
Even so, more and more Hanoians respect traffic laws, more and more.
I talked about the traffic chaos above in Hanoi, which doesn’t mean that I think all chopsticks as the same.
More and more people in Hanoi respect traffic laws. Most people in traffic stop when there is a red light, do not cross over to cut the front of the vehicles turn on the turn signal,,.
The number of people who voluntarily respect traffic laws in Hanoi is increasing.
Yesterday, when I was riding a motorbike on the road, I saw a woman on a motorbike trying to cross the road in front of my motorbike, I slowed down to try to let her pass first, but no, she stopped the her motorbike and wait for me to pass, then let her motorbike cross the road.
People who respect traffic rules and have traffic sense like her are increasing.///