I was standing at a big intersection in Saigon with a friend, waiting for a break in traffic to appear. This was within two days of arriving, so I was still terrified to cross the street. A tiny, elderly Vietnamese lady materialized between us, and I figured that she knew what she was doing, and I would simply follow her lead. No sooner had the thought crossed by mind, when she gently took hold of my friend’s arm and started across the street. At first I thought that she was taking pity on two Saigon street newbies, but she said Thank You when we made it to the other side alive. I’m still not sure if she was helping us, or we were helping her. She didn’t really seem to need it, other than the fact that she was very petite, and perhaps figured that a group of three was easier to see than one. Or that it’s a good idea to have something, anything, like a body, as a buffer between you and oncoming traffic. 

It took me a few days to figure out Vietnamese traffic. For the uninitiated, crossing the street is bewildering. Waves of scooters are coming from every direction, on the sidewalk, against traffic, backing out of sidewalk parking (as far as I can tell, the sidewalk is Vietnam is not for walking. It’s for parking your scooter). Most seem to interpret traffic signals as suggestions to be ignored rather than rules to be followed. But after a couple of days I figured out a guiding principle; it’s just that nobody wants to stop. To get from one side of the street to another, pedestrians must merely time the intervals between scooters, and proceed appropriately, avoiding any unpredictable actions, such as suddenly breaking into a run, or just stopping in front of someone. Scooterists and drivers seem quite content with someone cutting in front of them, pedestrian or another vehicle, as long as it only requires at most a trajectory change on their part, and not an application of the brakes. I think brake pads in Vietnam must need to be serviced on a less frequent basis than they do in the west. It takes only mere minutes on any Vietnamese street to see any number of traffic infractions that would drive American drivers to fits and road rage, but everyone here just seems to adjust trajectory, and keep on going. It almost works better than having too many rules, because that just gives people something to get angry about. 

I’ve seen traffic at a complete standstill only once so far. I got to a main intersection in Can Tho to find traffic cops had stopped traffic in all directions. Everyone sat and waited while a small motorcade drove through, a few cars and riders two up on motorcycles trailing enormous Vietnam flags, which made me suspect something more on the official side was approaching. I definitely didn’t expect the bicycle peloton which did finally appear, followed by more cars and motorcycle support vehicles, spare bicycle wheels dangling off the side. I don’t know what was more mystifying, a bike race in tropical heat and humidity, or seeing what was at that point, at least over one thousand scooters actually waiting at the traffic signal. As the tail end of the the race passed through, I could hear all the waiting scooters kicking on and revving up. One of the cops at my corner pointed at the traffic signal, a gesture that a few individuals interpreted (incorrectly) as permission to run the currently red light (whistle-blowing ensued). Everyone else waited until their green light, whereupon traffic reverted once again, in mere moments, to its natural state of controlled chaos.

One evening I found a little spaniel wearing a jaunty sweater sitting on a corner in Hanoi’s Old Quarter, watching the evening mess of traffic go by. I stopped to take his picture, and immediately afterwards, he got up and trotted across the street, easy as you please. Even the dogs here are better at crossing the street than I am. But after being here a month, I can say that I finally have a handle on traffic; I can cross the street without my blood pressure rising, and can navigate a scooter through the city (maybe not Saigon; I haven’t tested those waters this time around). Although I haven’t had the guts to pull off my favorite Vietnamese traffic move – executing a left hand turn by turning directly into the right hand side of the right hand lane of oncoming traffic, and then working over to the correct lane as opportunity allows. I mentioned this to an American guy who was giving me a ride around Dalat on his motorcycle, and he clarified that one only does this if oncoming traffic is scooters only. In that case, it’s some sort of professional courtesy to let the upstream rider through. Good to know.

iron steeds only