Driving in Vietnam vs Thailand

Bazza139 wrote:

"

Insurance????   Waste your money creatively, at least.
Put it in a sealed bottle and throw it into the ocean.

All an insurance policy does is prove you are just
another honest person.   Stupid too...

Sorry.   You are a good person, but (extremely) foolish.

In Viet Nam, your car, in my case jeep, must be inspected every six months and their are stickers on the windshield to prove it. A check of your insurance is also part of the inspection. No insurance no inspection stickers. The mandatory insurance is sold during the inspection if your insurance is due to expire during the six months that the stickers are valid

Also, while the car insurance here does suck big time. If you have an accident without insurance you will be in major legal trouble.

For a Car, no insurance almost impossible and super stupid. Yes the insurance does suck.

Note, one of my daughters was seriously injured in a vehicle accident in the US. The American insurance  company informed me that they could not pay the claim unless I sued them. They did say that the lawsuit would be "friendly" and they would not defend themselves. So after more than a year, I did get a check minus a big lawyer's commission.

I am not fond of Insurance Companies, American or Vietnamese. But, the price of not having insurance can be much worse.

" I am not fond of Insurance Companies, American or Vietnamese. But, the price of not having insurance can be much worse."

Sadly, I must disagree.
   
(Any) even cursory study of 'statistics' shows the scam.
As I said, you are only proving your good intentions.

Fortunately (for me) I come from an 'area' of this
' Pale Blue Dot '  which (also) has compulsory
( ' Third Party ' ) insurance inclusive in registration, and
' machinery inspections ' only for commercial vehicles.

Christian / Capitalist / Communist..?   Same Same...

Again, it's all about the money. 

I don't think with the herd.    Fortunate for me.     

I am in Vietnam now with my wife at our house in the country, Dong Nai, near Bien Hoa, you know, the road to Vung Tau, anyway, I just rode my bicycle upto the busy road to get some nice pastries at a luckily near me bakery, as it it very "Vietnam" out here. With a bike, I usually veer off the road when a big bus or truck honks its massive horn. Very quiet at ourhome however, just listening to the roosters crow mostly.

gobot wrote:

Never seen a sidecar here.
Too bad tuktuks are illegal.
Dogs go under ... living near a park, I've seen this many times.

http://i.imgur.com/w1PJlF2.png

I'm looking at my VN Driver's License Class A1, B1 and Motorcycles, Cars to 9 passenger and Trucks to 3.5 tons are covered for non commercial use. 3 wheelers and motorcycles with a sidecar are not on my License. If memory serves from reading the VN Vehicle Test study book  several years ago three wheelers and motorcycles with a sidecar require a specific endorsement on the VN DL

Bazza139 wrote:

" I am not fond of Insurance Companies, American or Vietnamese. But, the price of not having insurance can be much worse."

Sadly, I must disagree.
   
(Any) even cursory study of 'statistics' shows the scam.
As I said, you are only proving your good intentions.

Fortunately (for me) I come from an 'area' of this
' Pale Blue Dot '  which (also) has compulsory
( ' Third Party ' ) insurance inclusive in registration, and
' machinery inspections ' only for commercial vehicles.

Christian / Capitalist / Communist..?   Same Same...

Again, it's all about the money. 

I don't think with the herd.    Fortunate for me.     

Being involved as a driver in a fatal traffic accident, unless you are properly licensed, insured and so on can wind you with up to 20 years in a VN Prison. Normal is more like 2 years. I've posted the web site link here before. At 72, I'd rather pay for the insurance than take that chance, especially as you would be committing several other crimes like no current registration etc. as your insurance is verified every six months when your car is required to be inspected.

Note, while I was a USN "Traffic Cop" in Japan, at the time the Japanese Police found the drunk on a bicycle swerved in front of one of our Sailors who in the middle of a dark night, according to both the Japanese and USN investigators, the Sailor had no fault in the death of the drunk who had been thrown out of a local bar for being too drunk, and the Sailor had no way to avoid the accident. Still that Sailor had to spend a ton of money to apologize for the death, was expelled and permanently barred from ever entering Japan again under penalty of spending many years in prison. Asian Traffic rules can get very severe. Repeat, both USN investigators and the Japanese Police determined that the dead drunk was completely at fault and the American Sailor had no fault or guilt what so ever in the drunks death.

In the VN village where the house we own is, one of the local cops asked me, why I was so determined to be completely legal about driving as every cop in town knew who I was and would never stop me unless I was doing something incredibly stupid. I answered, "What if a little baby girl burst loose and runs in front of me and I run over her? What will the judge do?" After thinking for a moment, he answered, "You are smart. And If a non local stopped you on the highway, you are clear for that as well."

And, Yes the VN insurance is a ripoff. An in-law of mine actually did collect on that insurance. I(f memory serves) it took a year and a half of effort and paid about half of his hospital bills.

70 years old wrote:

gobot wrote:

Never seen a sidecar here.
Too bad tuktuks are illegal.
Dogs go under ... living near a park, I've seen this many times.

http://i.imgur.com/w1PJlF2.png

I'm looking at my VN Driver's License Class A1, B1 and Motorcycles, Cars to 9 passenger and Trucks to 3.5 tons are covered for non commercial use. 3 wheelers and motorcycles with a sidecar are not on my License. If memory serves from reading the VN Vehicle Test study book  several years ago three wheelers and motorcycles with a sidecar require a specific endorsement on the VN DL

i have A2/B2 and in order to ride three wheelers you need A3

I had many bad experiences driving in Vietnam. Came across this thread while looking to see if I'm the only one frustrated. It's an understatement about the "watch out, I'm here" thing. Trucks and buses tailgates you and they will horn and flash you with their highbeams as if they are trying to run you off the road. Find this really intolerable. I notice that they did this frequently too while being on bikes. Guess mentality doesnt change with a change of vehicle.

And yes. No one follows the rules here. I got hit once by a motorbike running the red light while crossing using the crosswalk.

Life is cheap here, and probably if monkeys drive, they would have better driving etiquette.

I drive now nearly one year daily motorcycle and car in and around HCMC and have already seen more than one dead person lying on the road.

For me it is still incomprehensible how "thoughtless" (to put it politely) everyone drives.

Since probably not all death longings have, it will be probably a mixture of "thoughtlessness" and the typical Asian impatience.

I would never entrust my life to strangers, which the Vietnamese do permanently on the basis of "thoughtless" driving.

For example, I constantly experience with the car that a motorbike drives past to the right and then turns left just before me.  That might work if he can cross the oncoming lane without any problems.  But if someone comes in oncoming traffic (which is not uncommon in HCMC), he has to stop in front of my car.  So I have to make an emergency stop otherwise he would run over.

I think the general "thoughtlessness" can not only be observed in road traffic (burning garbage, disposing of garbage on the neighboring property, not belting up, smoking, drinking, just to name a few).

And that really has nothing to do with culture or tradition.

Sometimes I really have the feeling that thinking is painful for some people.