Hanoi's Traffic is Doomed!

I recently returned from a wonderful holiday back to the U.S. and since returning I have realized a shocking reality. Hanoi is doomed when it come to traffic chaos.

This city is growing very fast and currently at 8.2 million people. It is not like a traditional city in that it does not have a central city core of buildings and or clear and defined areas. As they say it is a large village and not a city. That very reality of being a large village is part of the problem. Many people that move to Hanoi for opportunity maintain their village ways and it clearly does not work in a city. More and more people are buying cars, which congests everything more. I would say the worst aspect of traffic chaos is that the government does not appear to be making much effort in establishing traffic laws and enforcing them.

Living in the western world, I do feel we have too many rules and regulations, but most of them are created because human beings make too many mistakes, have a difficult time playing well with others or are simply plain stupid. It is clear to me living in Hanoi, why it is so important to have traffic rules. Most of the people here have no clue what to do other than to drive the only way they know which is for themselves. There are few traffic lights or signs here and most people pay no attention to that. Also, when you live in a Mad Max world of few laws people will just do what they damn well please. For example, driving down a one way street in the opposite direction, running a red light, using a congested sidewalk as your own personal lane, cutting someone off, etc. etc. etc. It is a good thing this is a non aggressive culture because people would otherwise be shooting people down.

Last year I mostly walked and now I use a motorbike taxi almost every day. Many times I think it would be better to simply ride with my eyes closed like crossing the street here. (If I had not mentioned it before, crosswalks are pointless as well.) The behavior on the roads here is crazy, dangerous and frightening to watch and to experience and yet most people survive every day. Some do not.

I now realize that Hanoi is doomed for its future traffic hell for the simply fact that the government is not making it a priority. The city wants to build, build, build, grow, grow, grow and not consider what that is doing to the flow of people and the environment. (Don’t get me started on the environment!) It is clear that human nature makes people do whatever they have to do and that does not mean cooperate. You get to where you need to go by how aggressive you are, how clever you are and pure madness. The traffic is so bad now, I cannot imagine it getting worse…..but it will.

When my partner’s sister and mother come to visit soon I think we will give them blinders so that they do not have to deal with the reality….or maybe not. They need to tell others what a crazy reality we live in every day.