TRAFFIC SAFETY AND ROAD CONDITIONS: While in a foreign country, U.S citizens may encounter road conditions that differ significantly from those in the United States The information below concerning Vietnam is provided for general reference only, and may not be totally accurate in a particular location or circumstance Traffic in Vietnam is chaotic Traffic accidents occur frequently and the most common victims are motorbike riders and pedestrians At least 30 people die each day from transportation-related injuries and many more are injured, often with traumatic head injuries Traffic accident injuries are the leading cause of death, severe injury, and emergency evacuation of foreigners in Vietnam Traffic accidents, including those involving a pedestrian and a motorized vehicle, are the single greatest health and safety risk U.S citizens will face in Vietnam Traffic moves on the right, although drivers frequently cross to the left to pass or turn, and motorcycles and bicycles often travel (illegally) against the flow of traffic Horns are used constantly, often for no apparent reason Streets in major cities are choked with motorcycles, cars, buses, trucks, bicycles, pedestrians and cyclos Outside the cities, livestock compete with vehicles for road space Sudden stops by motorcycles and bicycles make driving a particular hazard Nationwide, drivers not follow basic traffic principles, vehicles not yield right of way, and there is little adherence to traffic laws or enforcement by traffic police The number of traffic lights in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City is increasing, but red lights are often not obeyed Most Vietnamese ride motorcycles; often an entire family rides on one Road conditions are poor nationwide Numerous tragic accidents have occurred due to poor road conditions that resulted in landslides, and U.S citizen travelers have lost their lives in this way Travelers should exercise extra caution in the countryside, as road conditions are particularly poor in rural areas Driving at night is especially dangerous and drivers should exercise extreme caution Roads are poorly lit, and there are few road signs Buses and trucks often travel at high speed with bright lights that are rarely dimmed Some motor vehicles may not use lights at all, vehicles of all types often stop in the road without any illumination, and livestock are likely to be encountered Motorcyclists and bicyclists are strongly urged to wear helmets Passengers in cars or taxis should use seatbelts when available, but should be aware that Vietnamese vehicles often are not equipped with working seatbelts A law mandating the use of motorcycle helmets on all roads went into effect on December 15, 2007, and is strictly enforced Child car seats are not available in Vietnam Penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol or causing an accident resulting in injury or death can include fines, confiscation of driving permits or imprisonment U.S citizens involved in traffic accidents have been barred from leaving Vietnam before paying compensation (often determined arbitrarily) for property damage or injuries Emergency roadside help is theoretically available nationwide by dialing 113 for police, 114 for fire brigade and 115 for an ambulance Efficiency of these services is well below U.S standards, however, and locating a public telephone is often difficult or impossible Trauma care is not widely available The urban speed limit ranges from 30 to 40 km/h The rural speed limit ranges from 40 to 60 km/h Both speed limits are routinely ignored Pedestrians should be careful, as sidewalks are extremely congested and uneven, and drivers of bicycles, motorcycles and other vehicles routinely ignore traffic signals and traffic flows, and even drive on sidewalks For safety, pedestrians should look carefully in both directions before crossing streets, even when using a marked crosswalk with a green "walk" light illuminated International driving permits and U.S drivers' licenses are not valid in Vietnam Foreigners renting vehicles risk prosecution and/or imprisonment for driving without a Vietnamese license endorsed for the appropriate vehicle U.S citizens who wish to drive in Vietnam should contact any office of the Provincial Public Transportation Service of the Vietnamese Department of Communications and Transport to obtain a Vietnamese driver's license The U.S Embassy in Hanoi and Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City cannot assist U.S citizens in obtaining Vietnamese driver's permits or notarize U.S drivers' licenses for use in Vietnam Most Vietnamese travel within Vietnam by long-distance bus or train Both are slow, and safety conditions not approach U.S standards Local buses and taxis are available in some areas, particularly in the larger cities Safety standards vary widely depending on the individual company operating the service, but are generally much lower than what would be found in the U.S Please refer to our Road Safety page for more information CIM ON SITE ONE PERSON CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE By bus through Hanoi The context Rapid increases in the traffic in Viet Nam’s cities is resulting in greater noise pollution and more accidents Objective The construction of an urban transit system in the capital, Hanoi, is to considerably reduce the amount of traffic on Vietnamese streets CIM assignment A German traffic engineer is supporting Hanoi’s traffic authority in making public transport more appealing City buses are planned, with lower prices for monthly tickets and regular schedules posted at each bus stop Hanoi is the only capital city in Asia with no urban skyline Typical of the city are, instead, its picturesque old city, broad avenues and lakes The trick is to preserve this idyllic setting while managing traffic more effectively In Hanoi more than two million people live in a very small area There are relatively few automobiles, but the number of mopeds and bicycles tearing through the streets is on the rise The rapidly increasing traffic has also increased noise pollution and accidents Walter Molt advises the Hanoi Transport Management and Operation Centre on improving the organisation of local public transport In his daily work he does all he can to give people new insights into what the possibilities might be To demonstrate alternatives to cities that cater to cars, he has invited leading managers at the traffic control authority to take study tours in Europe and examine at first hand cities that go in for buses, trains or bicycles instead of cars “You can only make changes in an atmosphere of trust,” believes Molt, who has apparently succeeded in winning the trust of his employer The new additions to Hanoi’s streets are there for all to see Today, city residents take the bus much more often than they used to: public transport companies now carry 600,000 passengers a day: a dramatic rise from the 34,000 per day in 1990 Molt himself has inspired a number of improvements The transport fleet has been refurbished and there are more buses now per line Schedules have been posted at bus stops and low-priced monthly tickets have been issued Now the World Bank has made a loan available for construction of a bus-plusrapid-transit system in the city Not only that, the city of Hannover would like in future, in partnership with Paris Ỵle-de-France, to contribute to improving environmental conditions and technical standards for Hanoi’s buses Maneuvering Through Opportunities & Traffic in Vietnam July 16, 2009 by meetjohnsong Ho Chi Minh City traffic I hold on tightly behind my brother as he deftly maneuvers his scooter through the seemingly chaotic traffic of Ho Chi Minh City At first, watching hordes of cars and scooters sharing the streets and avoiding each other without apparent defined rules can be both astonishing and terrifying But from the back seat of Paul’s scooter, I soon begin to understand certain rules and reasoning behind the commuters’ actions The traffic, as it turns out, moves along rather well, despite the congestion of the city Doing business in Vietnam works in similar ways The rules and expectations are different than in the US People seem to be coming at you from all directions, but then a pattern starts to develop Vietnam is a developing country Its people have a relatively high education level The country also has a disproportionally high number of young people under the age of 30 compared to developed countries The government is very stable Compared to its Southeast Asian neighbors, I’ve also noticed that the Vietnamese culture has more elements of the Chinese work ethic like those in the Far East countries In addition, Vietnam is a handsome country, with a long, beautiful coastline Vietnamese food is fabulous, gaining popularity throughout the world With a population of around 82 million, Vietnam could someday become an economic pillar in Southeast Asia For now, though, Vietnam remains a developing economy, and the labor extremely cheap Get a haircut, and you can have one person cutting your hair, while two others will manicure your finger nails I played golf, and frustrated with a bunker shot, I raked my own mess My caddy (and you have to have a caddy) thanked me profusely, embarrassed that she didn’t move fast enough to take the rake away from me People are everywhere to serve you It can be humbling, yet charming For the right type of business idea, Vietnam represents tremendous opportunities Some entrepreneurs have already built technical development teams here to service the West’s appetite for off-shoring those components International marketing and research firms have established operations here to help foreign brands move into the Vietnamese market To support new innovations, venture funds are now being established here with both foreign and local money Nonetheless, many more foreign ventures will fail here than succeed It is not easy to manuever through the local business and cultural environment The risk remains extremely high Like Paul steering us through the traffic, any company that has a fighting chance of success here needs the guidance and support of someone(s) who already understands the business climate and culture in Vietnam Ads by Google Business Travellers Join the first social network for frequent business travellers www.biziker.com Setup Foreign Rep Office Vietnam Specialists in obtaining gov't approval for licenses www.VNBusinessSolutions.com Invest In Yorkshire, UK Now Is The Time To Invest In Yorkshire And Share Our Strength! www.InvestinYorkshire.com Do Business with China Wholesale Price from Manufacturers Join Us Today & Inquiry Directly! www.Made-in-China.com Posted in business, entrepreneur | Tagged entrepreneur, Ho Chi Minh City, Paul Song, start-up, Vietnam, Vietnam business | Comments Responses on July 27, 2009 at 3:04 pm | Reply charles john~ interesting observations i have traveled throughout se asia extensively, and i would agree that these are the most diligent & brightest workers outside the big in asia (ie, china, japan & korea) and again as you rightly pointed out they have the most attractive demographics 70% below 30, and 2/3 below 25! always an important ingredient in a successful economy however, the bottleneck- is clearly the education system bright young students who want to learn have nowhere to go the harvard foundation is there full-time working with the gov’t to try and improve the education system unfortunately, you will see all the bright college kids have already started their own businesses school does not satisfy these kids i met a very interesting search engine start-up and they learned to code straight from english texts they studied themselves~ talk about entrepreneurial spirit! well, lately with the crash of the stock & r.e estate markets, and continued fears of dng de-valuation, is this the right time to invest~? another million dollar question~ on July 27, 2009 at 3:15 pm | Reply meetjohnsong Charles, Very interesting insights on the limiting educational system there I guess developments there will have to be monitored moving forward I think there are two ways to invest in Vietnam Traditionally, people think of developing business for the Vietnamese market The other would be to leverage the natural resources (including labor) for rendering services, solutions or products for other markets The later, I think, is less risky than the former Thanks for your comment John on July 27, 2009 at 10:52 pm | Reply charles you may be surprised to know korea is the leading FDI (foreign direct investor) in vietnam they have created many export mfg ops, and are the leading sellers of white goods and culture (hallyu wave~) having said that, i think the biggest resource to harvest eventually will be its smart young people we can already see the internet taking off in a big way, despite lack of PCs and crappy networks what, 80+million folks anyway, the best way to invest…buy the land across the river from downtown near the airport this is considered far out of town today… all i can say is Remember Kangnam! Home | About us | Publications | Workshops | Links | Site map | Tiếng Việt Brainstorming Session No.9 Road traffic safety in Vietnam August 23, 2006 On 23-8-2006, Mr Tetsuji Masujima (ALMEC), a transport expert with more than 10 years of experience in VN, was invited to present traffic safety situation Vietnam Contents of the presentation include basic data on traffic accidents, problems and issues of traffic safety in Vietnam, government efforts and assistance of international organization to reduce traffic accidents Vietnam?s road safety has deteriorated over the past decade According to the statistics from National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC), road traffic accidents made up 97% of the total number of accident fatalities last year Per 10,000 vehicles there was an official fatality rate of 8.3 persons or fatality rate of 1.4 per 10,000 people, making Viet Nam?s roads the one of the most dangerous in Asean countries In 2005, the major causes of road traffic accidents are road user?s errors, unsafe vehicle conditions and roads and bridges condition and other Road user?s errors includes in Vietnam include speeding, dangerous overtaking, drunk driving, poor road observation, misuse of lanes and pedestrian, making up 66.4% of the total number of sample accidents Unsafe vehicle conditions, roads and bridges conditions and others made up 0.7%, 0.2 % and 28.5% of the total number of road accidents respectively Road traffic accidents in Vietnam has a clear pattern in all geographic regions, with the leading contribution of motorcycle (71.4% in 2001), followed by automobile (22.5% in 2001) Between the regions, urban areas like Hanoi and Hochiminh city, there are high rates of injury as well as more motorcycles involved in traffic accidents In Hochiminh city, motor vehicle drivers caused 92.88% of total number of traffic accidents in 2001 In national highways, the percentages of traffic accidents caused by motorcycles and automobile are 57.2% and 36.6% on highway number 3; 4.1% and 95.3% on highway number 5; 52.9% and 45.6% on highway number and 58.2% and 39% on highway number 18 Speeding and reckless driving are the main causes of traffic accidents on national highways There is a trend of decreasing the number of accidents in the past four years since 2002 According to Mr Tetsuji Masujima, this is partly due to traffic safety enforcement, roads improvements but largely due to the change of reporting system in which only serious accidents have been recorded by policy There is a discrepancy between traffic accident data provided by NTSC and other sources and limitations in the information collected Reports are not always compiled for each crash, those that are completed often missing key information, and only severe cases are reported In addition, data is collected within a short period of time after the accident and It doesn't provide therefore, details of the longer term implications of the accident, which might be important in terms of health effects The ability of the goverment to analyze the real situation of traffic accidents and to develop effective road safety program is limited by the poor data on traffic accidents Existing data are considered to be unreliable and incomplete, so that causes of traffic accidents are difficult to identify Recently, Vietnam has received a lot of assistances from international organizations Worldbank has sponsored Vietnam Road Safety Project that aim to strengthen the capacity, resources, and skills of relevant agencies, including the National Traffic Safety Committee and the Ministries of Transport, Public Security, Health and Education and Training This project focuses on supporting the development and implementation of implementation of comprehensive, integrated safety programs like black spot section improvement program and accident monitoring and evaluation program along three high-risk national road corridors: Highway between Ha Noi and Vinh (281 km) and HCM City and Can Tho City (151 km), and Highway 51 between Dong Nai Province and Vung Tau (80km) While recent JBIC financed projects focus on traffic safety improvements in the south, JICA?s sponsored projects are mostly in the North JBIC financed project focuses on comprehensive traffic safety measures on national highway number 3,5,10 and 18 JICA?s sponsored projects includes a development survey on human resource development on traffic safety, a study on traffic accidents for model area in Hanoi, preparing and broadcasting of traffic safety TV drama and Hanoi traffic safety improvement project Mr Tetsuji Masujima also suggested that it is necessary for Vietnam to develop an efficient and comprehensive traffic safety system ( as a whole) with coordination between the concerned international organizations in order to provide a safer highway system [by Ngo Duc Anh] [Home] [JWG Home] [Top] Is this the craziest traffic in the world? With one of the world's highest population densities and over million motorbikes, Saigon has what is quite possibly the craziest traffic in the world! Traffic is becoming a real concern in Saigon and congestion has increased sharply with the influx of new cars since Vietnam's accession to the WTO with frequent reports in the papers such as Thanh Nien, and complaints about the deterioration in air quality Hundreds of thousands of cars have already been introduced to the city, jamming up the narrow city streets Just under 2% of Saigon's surface area is made up of roads - whereas cities of equivalent size such as New York, Paris and London devote between 15 and 20% of their area to roads, giving a lot more space for residents vehicles Even Bangkok, which is reknowned throughout the region for its severe gridlock devotes 5% of city space to roads The rapid increase in car ownership could become a real problem for Saigon if improvements to public transport and other alternatives are not realised in time, yet the recent rise in oil prices has hit the public's pockets hard, and many people have stopped driving motorbikes in favour of bicycles - both pedal powered and electric, which are said to be up to ten times cheaper to run than a motorbike There has also been a noted increase in the number of people opting to travel on buses, but current bus routes not cover all areas of the city leaving some without the option of taking the bus It will be interesting to see what the future holds, and how the new developments of the East West Highway and Thu Thiem tunnel alter the flow of traffic in the city The Vietnam Innovation Day (VID) 2007, co-organized by the National Transport Safety Committee (NTSC), the World Bank, and Asia Injury Prevention Foundation, is a "mini marketplace" for innovative ideas that address local development challenges Its co-sponsors are AusAID, Danish Embassy, Department for International Development (UK), New Zealand AID, SDC and Vietnam Airlines It identifies and directly supports small, bottom-up, innovative development proposals that deliver results, which can then be expanded or replicated It creates opportunities for local innovators to meet, exchange ideas, share information and network with other people responding to the same concerns The theme for 2007 program is “Traffic Safety ” with five sub-themes: Enforcement of traffic regulations: This sub-theme will support initiatives that empower communities to undertake activities that will make it easier to reinforce traffic regulations and improve compliance Education and Awareness raising: This sub-theme will support initiatives to empower communities to undertake activities aiming at changing unsafe behavior, effective education on traffic rules and safety measures Better emergency services/responses: This sub-theme will support initiatives addressing the inadequacy in materials, equipment, and training for emergency medical support and services Proposed projects could provide first-aid knowledge, skills and equipment for the communities both in urban and rural areas Reducing pollution and accidents caused by vehicles: This sub-theme will support initiatives aim at reducing pollution and accidents caused by traffic by measures to reduce vehicle emissions, reduce defective vehicles and increase use of public transportation Improvement in traffic environment and road design: This sub-theme will support initiatives and creative ideas to improve the environment, including waning signs, layout, marking HANOI - Drink driving, inadequate use of safety gear and lack of proper infrastructure combine to make for very hazardous roads in Vietnam, where motorbike accidents continue to be a major killer Vietnam's rapid motorisation, which has increased together with economic growth, has taken a dangerous turn over the years Although Vietnam's General Statistics Office (GSO) reports a recent improvement in the casualties from road accidents, an average of 12,000 people still die from road accidents yearly Many say though that the actual death toll is 30 percent higher From 500,000 vehicles in 1990, there are now about 30 million motorbikes in this South-east Asian country These make up over 90 percent of all vehicles on the roads ”Ten years ago, you hardly saw a car, now there are so many The roads are so crowded,” 38-year-old Vu Thi Long, a fruit seller at Hanoi's Long Bien market, said ”There are a lot of accidents.” On Mar 13, a bus carrying Russian tourists tumbled over a cliff on its way from coastal Phan Thiet to the mountainous holiday town of Dalat in Vietnam's central region Eight Russians and two Vietnamese died on the spot, while two other Russians died while being treated in the hospital Such accidents, which made local and international news, account for only one third of Vietnam's daily road toll of 35, although conservative government estimates put this figure at between 28 and 32 Traffic accidents, 80 percent of which are motorbike-related, are the biggest killers of people aged 18 to 45 in Vietnam Government statistics, however, show there might be some improvement in this trend They show that as of 2008, there has been a significant drop of up to 12.5 percent in the road casualty toll, perhaps owing to various road safety campaigns initiated by both the private and government sectors According to statistics from the capital's Viet Duc Hospital, alcohol is involved in over 60 percent of vehicular crashes Ninety-three percent of people involved in these accidents were reportedly driving after drinking Men account for 82 percent of these accidents The Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations-NGO Resource Centre, a group of international non-government organisations, quoted Transport Minister Ho Nghia Dung as saying at a Mar 24 conference here that alcohol consumption causes 10 percent of traffic accidents in Vietnam Called a meeting on 'Alcoholic Beverages and Traffic Accidents'', the conference aimed to educate traffic officials about the new law on wearing protective helmets and the consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol The event was held with the participation of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) and the National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC) Vietnam's Helmet Law or Government Decree No 32, which took effect in December 2007, requires everyone riding a motorbike, including passengers and children, to wear a helmet Failure to comply means a fine of 150,000 dong (8.40 U.S dollars) Dr Dong Van He, a neurosurgeon at Viet Duc Hospital, said that there were attempts to enforce similar helmet ordinances in 1995 and 2001 but both failed due to lack of political will ”I wore a helmet from 1996 Only three of us (at the hospital) did back then,” he said Meanwhile, the government is planning to enforce the Road Traffic Law on Jul 1, 2009, which states that motorbike and car drivers' Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) level must not go beyond 0.05 percent and zero percent, respectively ”I recommend a BAC of zero percent but it's really difficult,” Col Nguyen Anh Dung of the Hanoi Road and Railway Traffic Police told the March conference ”I also recommend no drinking among police during working hours.” Studies show that 83 percent of Vietnamese are unaware of what the current legal BAC level (0.08 percent) should be In conducting a survey around drunk driving at the Saint Paul and Viet Duc hospitals, the National Economics University's Nguyen Thi Thieng noted the ”very poor understanding” about BAC levels Among policymakers, there is a ”high understanding but poor application” NTSC chair Than Van Thanh asserted that infrastructure plays only a small part in most road accidents ”Accidents are mainly caused by (the lack of) awareness and the manner in which people take part in transportation every day,” he told IPS in a phone interview Long-time Vietnam resident Greig Craft, president of the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation, attributes 90 percent of accidents to human error ”(The rate of) motorisation is out of control and with that you have associated problems There's a lack of infrastructure and experience,” said Craft, who has seen motorbikes replace bicycles in the country's streets almost overnight Others, however, are not so sure U.S travel writer Adam Bray, who has lived in Phan Thiet for five years, had been in a motorbike accident himself near the site of the March bus crash ”(The road) is too steep and the curves are too tight There are too many potholes,” he said ”Road crashes don't just 'happen' and they have determinants that can be controlled,” explained Jonathan Passmore of the road safety and injury prevention division of the WHO But without education and awareness, no road system will be entirely safe ”The biggest problem is how to raise people's awareness of laws, and of safety in transportation,” said Thanh Craft adds that if there is one good thing that can come out of the current financial crisis, it may well be a decrease in the death toll from road accidents ”This economic crisis may help It'll slow down motorisation,” he said By Helen Clark - Inter Press Service - April 2, 2009 ... Nam?s roads the one of the most dangerous in Asean countries In 2005, the major causes of road traffic accidents are road user?s errors, unsafe vehicle conditions and roads and bridges condition and. .. sample accidents Unsafe vehicle conditions, roads and bridges conditions and others made up 0.7%, 0.2 % and 28.5% of the total number of road accidents respectively Road traffic accidents in Vietnam... data on traffic accidents, problems and issues of traffic safety in Vietnam, government efforts and assistance of international organization to reduce traffic accidents Vietnam?s road safety has