So I almost had an accident on the way to work this morning. I was driving through a busy area of District 4, going the same rate of speed as everyone around me, which was probably about 40kph, when all of a sudden a motorbike heading the other way (coming toward me) pulled a u-turn and cut right in front of me. There were two women and a small girl on the motorbike.
They were directly in front of me and there was no way I could turn and make it around them, so I slammed on my foot brake and hand brake as hard as I could. My wheels locked up and my tires made that skidding, shrieking sound that you never really want to hear. As I slid toward them, my motorbike fell over to the right and laid (lied? lay?) down on it’s right side. I landed on my butt and right elbow, but I was fine.
Of course all of the Vietnamese around there started looking at me when they heard the sound of my tires skidding and shrieking, so I was more embarrassed than anything. I immediately got up and started pulling my bike up. A Vietnamese guy came over and helped me pull my bike upright.
The women on the other motorbike were looking at me and smiling. Now that might not seem like the appropriate reaction when they almost caused what could have been a bad accident, and would probably normally piss me off, but I’ve learned that some Vietnamese, when they’re placed in a stressful or confrontational situation, will smile or laugh. It’s just their natural cultural reaction for some reason. So whatever.
The guy who helped me up looked me and my bike up and down, then turned and looked the women and child and their bike up and down, then turned to me and said, in English, “No problem?” I replied to him in Vietnamese “khong sao,” which means no problem. Then I told him in Vietnamese that it had just scared me and we both started laughing and I resumed on my way back to work.
My adrenaline had shot through the roof, of course, so it took me a while, and a few deep breaths, to calm down.
Traffic is definitely dangerous here, and you definitely have to be aware at all times. But there’s really nothing more you can do than drive reasonably and be aware.
Anyway, I guess the good news is my brakes work! Hah!
Yikes! Sounds very scary. When expats from my company work in Vietnam, the policy forbids them from driving/riding on motorbikes as a precaution — it takes real skill and attitude adjustment to be able to navigate there, and it seems you’ve gained both. Glad those brakes worked.
As an attorney does it pain you in any way to not be able to sue them for the damage they caused to your scooter? Don’t lie. It does.