Getting Across Saigon Streets

Navigating Across Ho Chi Minh City Streets

After seven years we finally returned to Saigon and the changes were shocking. The one that caused us the most concern was the huge increase in traffic. Driving, and crossing streets in Vietnam has always been chaotic but this has now escalated to a whole new level. Seven years ago traffic around the cities central square was heavy but still accommodated plenty of cars, motor bikes and pedicabs. Today it looks as though it’s now too dangerous for pedicabs – instead of dozens peddling around the square, now there are none.

Today in the city pedestrians have to navigate through tidal waves of motorbikes, cars, and buses to get to the other side of a street. For most visitors like us it takes some courage and a realization that if you don’t just act you’re not going to get anywhere.

The main thing you need to understand is that a system has evolved that generally prevents motor bikes and cars from mowing down pedestrians. While traffic will not slow down drivers need to be able to predict what pedestrians will do as they approach and if you want to wait for traffic to stop or yield to crosswalks you’re probably not going across the street.

Here are some tips for crossing the streets in Saigon:

• Pay attention to what the locals are doing and try and cross with them.
• Watch the traffic flow and look for any gap, no matter how small to start.
• Remember that you need to be predictable so look in the direction of oncoming traffic as you start to cross and maintain a steady pace.
• When crossing the street, it’s essential to walk steadily and never stop. It’s important that drivers see you and understand what you’re doing so they can avoid hitting you. Don’t make sudden movements, do not stop or run across the street.

Over the time we were in Vietnam we did see a lot of tourists that just couldn’t get up the nerve to cross the street. We saw a number of close calls but they were all because people (mostly tourists) froze in the street and the more we crossed the easier it became…