Nearly 83% of road accidents in Saigon involve motorbikes
The latest statistics from the municipal traffic safety committee reveal that motorbikes are either responsible for or the victim in 82.9 percent of road accidents in Ho Chi Minh City.
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Around 70 percent of traffic accidents stem from a lack of concentration by drivers; more than 20 percent are attributed to traffic infrastructure; while in less than 10 percent of the accidents, the means of transportation is at fault, according to the Ho Chi Minh City traffic safety committee.
On several streets, motorbike drivers have little space to travel as bigger vehicles including tank trucks or trailer trucks occupy most of the street.
On Hoang Huu Nam Street in District 9, for instance, motorbike drivers are forced to travel amongst a crowd of trucks while the road surface remains full of potholes.
On a section of National Highway 1 that passes the Linh Trung Export Processing Zone, a number of motorbikes run red lights during rush hour, while Nguyen Tat Thanh Street in District 4 is constantly packed with vehicles of all kinds.
“Driving a motorbike [in Ho Chi Minh City] is a tense task and whoever is on the back seat shouldn’t dare to talk to the driver for fear of distracting him,” one local resident said.
While motorbikes are proven to be a high risk means of transportation, the vehicle remains the most popular means of transport for most local people.
Cars are not affordable for everyone, and the city’s public transportation is still underdeveloped.
