Probably one of the most notorious things of Vietnam is their extremely busy roads full of xe oms (motorcycles). And if you ask someone who has recently been there about how bad traffic is, they'll probably tell you that the worst part of it is trying to get across the road. So if you're planning on visiting Vietnam, then you might want to read this before adventuring yourself into crossing any road.
1. Signs and traffic lights are there as a guidance, not as a rule. Traffic rules are not exactly followed here, and just because you see green light doesn't mean that you're ok to walk without a problem. There will always be a bike coming along, turning around or coming from the other side. So don't trust traffic lights or think that you have preference, just use them as a guide for where is a good spot to go across the road.
2. Always look both ways. Bikes are coming and going everytime, everywhere. Even when it's supposed to be a one way road, there's always one sneaky bike that will make it's way through there because it wants to park or make a U-turn, or who knows. True story. Be alert, and always check both sides.
3. Don't think, just go for it. It sounds scary but it's not. Although there's a high number of bikes and some cars in the road, the number of accidents are not as high as expected. Locals know their own rules and ways of going around, so if they see someone is crossing the road they'll avoid them and keep going their way. But if you're on the side, don't wait for them to stop for you because they won't. Just cross, and keep going carefully looking at both sides. What will happen is that at the same time you're walking, cars will stop for you and bikes will avoid you by going through the side.
4. Never look back. With this I mean, don't change your mind and then go back to where you started. Once you stepped the road, just keep going. Even if you have to stand in the middle of the road trying to re-gain confidence, they won't crush you. But if you suddenly change your mind and go back, chances are that any bike that was avoiding you will accidentally crush you.
5. And if none of this helped and made you even more scared of it, you can always search for a group of people or locals crossing the road and following them. People are super nice, and they will help you and take you from one side of the road to the other if you really look in trouble.
Before I went to Vietnam my friend gave me the same guideline and I wasn't sure of what to expect. Once I checked the road and saw how people do it, remembering what my friend told me, I went for it without thinking. My friends didn't know this and they pushed me back thinking I was gonna get ran over cause a bike was coming. I almost got hit but because they pushed me back, because that bike spotted me and was trying to avoid me, and went to one side, and when my friends pushed me back then I almost got hit because it was too late for that bike to react. Good thing nothing happened, but you get what I mean with number 4. Also, once you're making your way to the other side you can always sign the cars to stop so you can make your way, and they will. Trust me, at the end, is not that scary and it's gonna become part of your instinct. Once you've done it, you can scratch it from your bucket lists.
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