Beware of traffic signboard in Vietnam

VietHorse

VietHorse

0
Jan 9, 2011
516
0
0
This link is referred: LINK

Today morning, a team of Thailand adventure bikers were caught at the entrance of Hochiminh City.

[TABLE=class: tplCaption, width: 1]
[TR]
[TD]
3-8592-1384924100.jpg
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[TABLE=class: tplCaption, width: 1]
[TR]
[TD]
3-8564-1384924100.jpg
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[TABLE=class: tplCaption, width: 1]
[TR]
[TD]
2-7882-1384924100.jpg
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[TABLE=class: tplCaption, width: 1]
[TR]
[TD]
4-8051-1384924100.jpg
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[TABLE=class: tplCaption, width: 1]
[TR]
[TD]
9-6756-1384924100.jpg
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]

[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[TABLE=class: tplCaption, width: 1]
[TR]
[TD]
7-8516-1384924100.jpg
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[TABLE=class: tplCaption, width: 1]
[TR]
[TD]
5-8302-1384924100.jpg
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]

[/TR]
[/TABLE]
suaxe-5846-1384924101.jpg


According to the article, the bikers were caught by Police due to their violation of Vietnamese traffic law.
They were riding on the lane which is dedicated for car & truck, not for motorcycle or bicycle.

There are some signboards which you may see on Vietnam roads:

06042012_YNghiaCacBienBaoChiDanTungLanXe4.jpg


5-Bien.jpg


bay_toc_do.jpg


dn3.jpg


And sorry if you see this:
nhung-bien-bao-giao-thong-dc13ef.jpg
 
this sucks! In hanoi we have those signs too, nobody follows those too much.. what irritates me is driving on freeway where they drive 50km/h and on right lane when left lane is totally free! i haven't been pull over on driving wrong lane yet.. fingers cross.. :), but it helps to have white face and they seems not to bother asking money.
 
Dang, why the traffic cops so incredibly strict in Vietnam? Seems to take a lot of the fun out of riding and a bit short sighted that they'd go after a foreign tour group that is bringing a lot of money into the country.

Their "crime" was riding in the wrong lane?!? :crazy:

Sounds like small dirt bikes out in the country are the way to go. Riding in urban areas sounds like a bit of a nightmare.

No wonder you fellows travel all the way to Thailand to let loose! "Mai pen rai", aka "no worries" is the attitude most commonly found with rural Thai traffic police :happy5:
 
TonyBKK;294625 wrote: Dang, why the traffic cops so incredibly strict in Vietnam? Seems to take a lot of the fun out of riding and a bit short sighted that they'd go after a foreign tour group that is bringing a lot of money into the country.

Their "crime" was riding in the wrong lane?!? :crazy:

Sounds like small dirt bikes out in the country are the way to go. Riding in urban areas sounds like a bit of a nightmare.

No wonder you fellows travel all the way to Thailand to let loose! "Mai pen rai", aka "no worries" is the attitude most commonly found with rural Thai traffic police :happy5:
Click to expand...

Money.... 10 riders = big money :) but story might have been different if they would been westerners.. or not.

but normally police is only interested on locals to get their daily money, but also its better to obey traffic laws, but i must agree that those lane stuff is hard to follow when there are million more important things to follow.
 
I've been guilty of the same crime.

Myriama & I were once pulled over - well only Myriama actually despite us both being on the 'freeway' rather than in the 'bikes lane' - for being in the incorrect lane. It was on the way from HCMC to My Tho & I recall that despite covering the whole country it was only on the outskirts of HCMC that I saw the police operating to enforce this rule. We were only ever stopped on one other occasion - on the southern section of Eastern HCM Road (Hwy 15); this time by police looking for a payment. This - only twice stopped - despite over a year of constant long distance riding in Vietnam.

I agree the signage can be difficult but ignorance is no excuse & one should abide by the rules of the road. My point here, however, is to draw riders attention to what it's like on the 'bikes lane'!

This section of the road is only the width of a single lane & usually separated from the main road/highway by a usually cement barrier with a cement gutter on the other side. Such width means you are totally at the mercy of the slower (& I mean very slow) traffic. It is always CROWDED - remember there are over 16 million registered motorcycles in Hanoi; God only knows how many in HCMC!

The road surface is universally in a poorer condition, sometimes quite dangerous, to the (little used) main road. The heavy traffic in the lane makes it difficult to see dangerous conditions in advance & sees motorbikes directly in front of you swerving without notice.

Bikes enter the bikes lane from your right without caution - no-one so entering offers even a glance to see what traffic is moving by, the risk of a collision, or whatever.

In my case it was the safety issues as well as the fact that we were travelling long distances & looked to maintain a certain speed to arrive at our destination in a reasonable time that led us to flaunt the law on occasions. Unacceptable I know.

Stay Safe.

(Viethorse - did you or any of your friends make the paddle racing in Soc Trang?)
 
Actually the definition of "wrong lane" here should be understood clearer.
If the wrong lane on the road which has the lanes defined by painting - it somehow "ok" to let go.
But the road where those GS entered was different. Lane separated by concrete, and when you enter the car lane, you must go for several kilometers before you can come back to the right lane for motorcycles.
And you know why the popo so serious on that fault!? Because there are quite numbers of squids they use the car lane for racing, or show-up their bikes and speed.
UPDATE: The GS gang was let go with the fine of 300K VND each (approx. $15 each) for the wrong lane fault. Actually they should be fined on the road and guided to the right lane, however they were not be able to present their proper documentation (I think the agent kept it) so that why Police asked them to the Police station.
 
I think they were lucky.. :) but what i understand traffic violations made by motorcycle does not have so big fines than same made by car?
Actually I did drive with the car very short (20m) distance on the wrong side of divided lane after right turn, and police stopped me, and i had to pay one million. :-?
 
Here's a newspaper article on it

http://tuoitrenews.vn/society/15295/10-motorbikes-seized-from-foreign-caravan-in-hcmc

The text says

Ten motorcycles bearing Thai number plates were held as their foreign drivers violated traffic laws and could not produce driving licenses on Monday.

At 8:30am on November 20, local traffic policemen found the motorbikes travelling on a banned road in district 9 near Suoi Tien Cultural Park and pulled them over.

But none of the motorists were able to show valid driving papers so their bikes were seized pending investigations.

Two Vietnamese tour guides accompanying the group showed a document signed by the Ministry of Transport that authorized Binh An Commercial and Tourism Services Joint-Stock Company to organize an automobile and motorcycle caravan in Vietnam for tourism purposes from November 16 to 23.

The caravan is supposed to travel through Thailand - Bo Y border gate in Kon Tum - Phan Thiet, Ho Chi Minh City - Da Lat - Pleiku – and back to Bo Y border gate.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom