Hear are two letters that were written to the Straitis Time.

May 27, 2008
No traffic police, no lights, no problem...

I VISITED Vietnam recently and was impressed by the country's traffic culture. We can learn from the people.

Ho Chi Minh City, in the south, has more than 4.5 million motorcycles, cruising and ridden around without proper traffic lights and signs.

One requires nerves of steel merely to cross a junction with all those bikes crisscrossing one's path.

However, throughout my visit there, I did not see a single traffic mishap, dispute or scuffle on the road.

Like a perfectly solved Lego puzzle, there was no traffic jam or gridlock.
There was not a single police officer to direct traffic and no traffic junction camera to monitor movements.

The roads are crowded day and night, but traffic flows like an untrammelled river.

How can a country and its population go about its daily business so flawlessly, without disputes and accidents on the road?

And possibly without a road courtesy campaign to guide them too. There is a lesson to be learnt here.

It must be their self-discipline and consideration for one another.
Motorists somehow believe in the concept of 'road harmony' and have fine-tuned it to perfection for the benefit of everyone.

I can only wish that Singapore motorists will one day practise this on our roads.
Douglas Chua




May 30, 2008
Vietnam has road harmony? You're kidding...

I REFER to Tuesday's letter by Mr Douglas Chua, 'No traffic police, no lights, no problem', praising the traffic situation in Vietnam.

I have just returned from a trip to Vietnam, including a visit to Hanoi.

I beg to differ from Mr Chua. During my week-long stay, I saw two accidents involving bikers zipping about without regard for traffic rules.

Yes, traffic was relatively smooth flowing, but it was common to see bikers running red lights. Pedestrians risked being knocked down when they tried to cross the road.

The 'road harmony' Mr Chua praises comes with ceaseless sounding of horns by motorists at one another and at pedestrians.

I was told the speed limit is 60kmh in the city and along country roads. But it is impossible to achieve that speed in the city with motorcyclists zipping in and out.

Perhaps the Vietnamese have more to learn from us than we do from them.

Koh Chin Chin (Mdm)

These two letters show two different views about the traffic conditions in Vietnam.

Does it means that one of them is wrong?

What about those who were taking part in the GP programme? Any views?