Traffic in Vietnam

You know, I've been in Vietnam for 11 years and I have a love/hate relationship with this place. I obviously love to live here because, well, it's been 11 years!One of the things I hate, though, is the traffic. People here are absolutely suicidal. They barrel out of alleys without stopping. Approaching an intersection? Speed up! One way street? That's just a suggestion, just like the red traffic light.

Today at lunch I saw a man on a motorcycle drive into an intersection in the middle of the city only to be hit from the side by a small truck speeding through. That man was thrown off his bike about 5 meters onto his head (he wasn't wearing a helmet). Surprisingly, he remained conscious, but his leg didn't look good. My question is, Why didn't the drivers slow down when they knew they were entering an area with cross traffic?

Another traffic pet peeve of mine is the funeral procession. In Vietnam, funerals are lavish affairs with colorful hearses, long lines of cars carrying mourners and brass bands. I'm all for honoring the dead. But (you knew there was a "but"), when the lines of buses block the road and cause traffic jams in both directions, then it becomes a threat to public order. Roads in Saigon are narrow and can barely handle the regular traffic, not to mention private, ceremonial traffic. (I also take issue with the tons of "ghost money" thrown from the hearses and clogging the overworked sewers, but that's a different post.)

Many mornings when I walk to work, I get cutoff while crossing the road by cars turning left from the opposite direction. They obvisously see me, but they don't want to stop because they're in a hurry, I guess.

It seems the rule here is "lookout for number one" and who cares about other people on the road. Everyone is very selfish. I suppose this is the result of several decades of living hand-to-mouth, and that things will change as people become more affluent and can spare a thought to the needs/rights of others in society.

To me, it's a reflection of the short-term attitude of most people here. I fear that further development of the country will have to wait until this attitude changes.