Start, Pass Go and Don't Stop: Traffic in Vietnam

Traffic in Ho Chi Minh City is insane.  The majority of people drive or ride motor bikes.  Motor bikes are between a motorcycle and a dirt bike.  There are painted lanes and stop lights on the streets, but the lanes are basically irrelevant. Drivers zip around each other, do U turns in the middle of the street, and cross traffic going the opposite way without blinking an eye.

Last summer my brother attempted to teach me how to ride his dirt bike.  Eventually I was able to ride in circles around our yard in first gear, but only after hitting a lilac tree, trying to stop and having the bike tip over, and flooding the engine.  Until last week that had been my only experience riding on a two wheeled motor vehicle.  On Thursday, August 30 (our second day in Vietnam) each SIT student was paired with a Vietnamese student to drive us around the city on their motorbike.  We were each given a helmet and told to follow our drivers to their bikes.  The only advice I received was, "Just pretend you are a sack of potatoes on the back. Go with the flow."

My student driver seemed at ease as she sat dơwn on her bike while I swung my leg over the seat sitting behind her.  As we pulled out and meshed with the traffic I loosely clutched onto her side while trying to appear as calm as all the other drivers and passengers on the street.  I contemplated closing my eyes, but not seeing what was coming was a lot worse than seeing constant movement and near collisions all around.  As I got use to riding I moved my hands to clutch the bar around the back of the seat and tried to breath.

Riding a motor bike is almost like being on a rollercoaster without a harness or set track with a hundred other rollercoasters crossing in every possible direction around you so closely that you can almost steer the vehicle next to you.  There must be driving rules somewhere, but basically the only rule I observed was that size equals power.  Buses plow through without any regard for motor bikes or pedestrians in their path.  Cars and motor bikes never stop for pedestrians either.  They do have stop lights and cross walks in the more populated areas, but once the light turns green everyone goes.

Technically buses and cars are suppose to be the only vehicles in the left lane when there are two or more lanes, but motor bikes go everywhere.  About three motor bikes fit next to each other in a lane and they pack in as tightly as possibly on all sides and spill across into the other lanes even if the other lanes are full of opposing traffic.  

 It is the law to wear a helmet and the mạjority of drivers and passengers follow that rule because there is a steep fine if they get caught helmet-less. But there are no rules about wearing protective clothing so people just wear their normal clothes. I was surprised to see many women driving in stilettos and men and women in flipflops and short-sleeve shirts.  Also, the bikes may be meant for two people at max, but I have seen tons of families piling on.  One kid sits in front of the adult that drives then another child sits sandwiched between the driver and the adult in the back.  They also manage to fit an enormous amount of stuff strapped to the back.  So much that if you drive up from behind you can barely see the driver.

I've managed to put on a neutral face when riding just like the Vietnamese.  Even in heavy traffic if people cut in front of drivers they never scream  or make noise.  Except for beeping excessively when coming up fast behind someone, the drivers remain calm, hardly ever making dramatic facial expressions.  The passengers almost look bored as they sit behind the driver, their hands casually in their laps.  I even saw one kid reading a book as he sat behind a woman. 

The guest house my classmates and I are staying at is close to the Economic University where we take classes and there are also lots of markets within walking distance.  These past two weeks my classmates and I just rode motor bikes if we are with our Vietnamese friends.  When I move in with my host family in October I will definitely be riding a motor bike more often since that is their family vehicle.  

Even though the traffic is intense, I feel safer in Vietnam than some of the past countries I have visited.  Guns are illegal and I haven't even seen a heated argument yet.  The Vietnamese people are incredibly welcoming.  Students love to practice their English and I have started conversations with people just waiting in line for bubble tea.  They also are surprised (and they think it's incredibly hilarious) when the other students and I try to practice our Vietnamese with them.  Let's just say Vietnamese isn't the easiest language.  With six tones and an excess of vowels there's a lot of memorization to be done.