Vietnam has no traffic lights, no stop signs and no traffic cops. As you can see from this photo taken last year in Hanoi at night the traffic is snaking along the streets without the aid of any signals. At intersections and cross roads there is an understanding that everyone will get to where they are going, and the term we heard used many times was that the driver will ‘ease into traffic’. In this country if you persist in moving forward you will get into the stream of motor scooters. There are cars on the streets, but very few and many of them are taxis. In a country with 54 ethnic groups, a population of 82.8 million there are over 4 million motor scooters.
And I want to tell you, crossing the street on foot in Vietnam is not for the weak of heart. You must, as we were told, dance with the traffic. Step off the curb and move forward watching at all times from which direction a scooter will be coming. Let one or two scooters pass, step forward. Always keep moving, never stop and never, never turn around and run back to the curb. Most scooters will not slow down for you, but they will beep-beep you, not in annoyance, but to let you know that they are there. We always made it across the street and we never saw anyone hit while maneuvering from one side of the street to the other.
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