Vietnam: Driving in Thu Dau Mot City 2015

I’d spent a month in Vietnam with a new camera. The incredible thrill of riding on the back of a scooter in Vietnam. This is the city of Thu Dau Mot decorated beautifully for the Lunar New year, or the Tet Holiday, (or Chinese new year). My driver was very considerate of me sitting on the back if the scooter waving my digital camera back and forth wildly taking pictures faster than a 2 year old with a new toy. I must apologize to you all, I was using my DSLR camera to shoot videos. I didn’t think I’d be using the videos for anything other than just orienting myself with the area. I didn’t turn on image stabilization, I had no method of keeping the camera steady. Next time I go there I plan on buying a stabilization rig just to reshoot some of these videos, I was that impressed with what came out of these random experiments. I’d heard that Vietnam was the worst driving experience in the world. I beg to differ. Watching traffic in Vietnam was like watching a school of fish. It seemed almost organic. You could be driving north on a 3 lane residential road, and not be surprised to see a scooter coming towards you heading south on the shoulder, just because it’s more convenient for them to do so. The top speed in Vietnam is about 35 Miles per hour on main roads, slow enough to respond well enough to most obstacles. The vast majority of vehicles are scooters, a few cars and the rest are trucks and busses. Very few people driving are distracted by radios, conversations or texting on the phone while driving. It seems pretty universal that the driver focuses on driving, nothing else. Passengers rarely speak to the driver. Pedestrians have come up with a system where they walk across the street, slowly and deliberately, no hesitation, no darting back and forth. The scooters and cars see them and swerve around them as they go on their way. It seems very beneficial to all. Pedestrians cross at crosswalks, or in the middle of the street without fear. They don’t show hesitation or fear, and are intentional in what they do. There are lane lines on the roads everywhere, but they seem more “suggested” than actual barriers. The rules and laws are followed as long as they are convenient. Helmets, while required by law, seem to be more of a suggestion, or make shift head covering, than an actual protection device to most people. The driving age in Vietnam is 16, and I hear the test is very hard. Kids can drive electric bicycles at 14, younger than that they ride bicycles. Warning if you are planning on going to Vietnam, and possibly driving on the roads there, your head may not fit into the helmets in Vietnam.. I couldn’t find one to fit and I didn’t think I had a big head.