I was riding around the traffic circle near the Ben Thanh Market today. There was a tourist in front of me crossing the crosswalk towards the bus station so I slowed down. To my right was a Honda SH who did not seem to slow down so I went a bit slower. There was little room between us, same ole same ole fight for space if you want to ride a motorbike in Saigon. Then all of a sudden, I see the tourist face change to panic. Instantly a motorbike ridden by the girls below were speeding right between the SH and my motorbike towards the tourist. They did not stop but instead turned right in front of me and then left. The tourist had to jump in front of me, luckily I just stopped, barely.
The girls sped away knowing what they did. This has never happened to me before in my 9 years of riding in Saigon. I eventually caught up with them on Pasteur and told them to be careful. One girl kept saying “khong hieu” but the other said she understood me. They just laughed and “sped” between the bikes very recklessly. I decided to take their photos.
The sad part, these types of riders, whether local or Expat, never get caught by the traffic police but they tend to cause most of the serious motorbike accidents.
