Parking Problem? In Can Tho?
Well, not exactly, but it is an interesting aspect of the society on which to reflect. In Can Tho (and I suspect in most other cities in Vietnam), the motorbike and, to a lesser extent, bicycle are the major means of transportation. Where, then, do all these motorbikes park? As indicated by pictures in some of our previous posts, it would seem pretty much anywhere they want, making for navigation of “sidewalks” an iffy proposition.
Turns out, though, there are limits. Parking lots for motorbikes are all over, including campus, and many of these lots are attended. In trips to the market or outside restaurants, our drivers had to park their motorbikes in lots with attendants stationed at the entries and/or exits. From what I can gather, there are a couple reasons for this. Because so many of the motorbikes look alike, you have to have a relatively reliable and quick way to identify your bike. Second, apparently, like many lots in the U.S., some of them charge a fee. So, drivers either have marks written on their handlebars or are given a ticket, which they then use to claim their motorbikes when they leave.
Because there are so many motorbikes, it is not uncommon for space within lots or even on the sidewalks outside of establishments to become a premium. So drivers will frequently get off their motorbikes, move another motorbike or two over or closer together, and then park their bikes. This maneuver always seems to be done with care and respect for the other’s motorbike.
Imagine your next trip to the mall in your car, and some moron in a Hummer 2 has taken up two or perhaps three parking spaces. You patiently stop your car, climb into the Hummer and carefully reposition it so there is room for your car and others. Then you park your vehicle in the space you just created.
So, while parking may not be the problem it often is on the MSU campus (where, as we are so fond of saying, a permit is a license to “hunt” for a space) or downtown Lansing, Detroit, or Grand Rapids, it does sometimes emerge as an interesting aspect of a society so exclusively reliant on the motorbike.
On a more serious note, reliance on the motorbike as a major means of transportation doesn’t make the streets or highways here any safer. In fact, I have been told that over 11,000 deaths a year are attributed to motorbike accidents. In a country with a population of just over 80 million, you must admit that is a pretty high mortality rate. Compare this, for example, to the United States with a population of 300 million, where somewhere between 30,000 – 40,000 deaths occur from motor vehicle accidents each year (not sure of the exact figure here. It has been declining). Do the math – from the back seat of a taxi or the front seat of a car the streets and highways here not only seem dangerous, they are dangerous places. The American from Princeton that I talked with a few days ago said in the 18 months he has been here, he has witnessed over a dozen fatal motorbike accidents.
The World Health Organization has apparently recently issued guidelines to help address the problem. Their suggestion? Mandatory helmets for all drivers. Now, helmets are only required on the highway and not in the city, where speeds are presumably slower (the distinction between highway and city – when a street becomes a highway – is one that Kris and I have yet to figure out. It’s like growing old. You don’t really notice it and all of a sudden you realize you are there).
At any rate, it seems a huge public health problem for which there appears no easy solution, or perhaps no solution at all! Talk about an adult education program! Now there is some potential.
Turns out, though, there are limits. Parking lots for motorbikes are all over, including campus, and many of these lots are attended. In trips to the market or outside restaurants, our drivers had to park their motorbikes in lots with attendants stationed at the entries and/or exits. From what I can gather, there are a couple reasons for this. Because so many of the motorbikes look alike, you have to have a relatively reliable and quick way to identify your bike. Second, apparently, like many lots in the U.S., some of them charge a fee. So, drivers either have marks written on their handlebars or are given a ticket, which they then use to claim their motorbikes when they leave.
Because there are so many motorbikes, it is not uncommon for space within lots or even on the sidewalks outside of establishments to become a premium. So drivers will frequently get off their motorbikes, move another motorbike or two over or closer together, and then park their bikes. This maneuver always seems to be done with care and respect for the other’s motorbike.
Imagine your next trip to the mall in your car, and some moron in a Hummer 2 has taken up two or perhaps three parking spaces. You patiently stop your car, climb into the Hummer and carefully reposition it so there is room for your car and others. Then you park your vehicle in the space you just created.
So, while parking may not be the problem it often is on the MSU campus (where, as we are so fond of saying, a permit is a license to “hunt” for a space) or downtown Lansing, Detroit, or Grand Rapids, it does sometimes emerge as an interesting aspect of a society so exclusively reliant on the motorbike.
On a more serious note, reliance on the motorbike as a major means of transportation doesn’t make the streets or highways here any safer. In fact, I have been told that over 11,000 deaths a year are attributed to motorbike accidents. In a country with a population of just over 80 million, you must admit that is a pretty high mortality rate. Compare this, for example, to the United States with a population of 300 million, where somewhere between 30,000 – 40,000 deaths occur from motor vehicle accidents each year (not sure of the exact figure here. It has been declining). Do the math – from the back seat of a taxi or the front seat of a car the streets and highways here not only seem dangerous, they are dangerous places. The American from Princeton that I talked with a few days ago said in the 18 months he has been here, he has witnessed over a dozen fatal motorbike accidents.
The World Health Organization has apparently recently issued guidelines to help address the problem. Their suggestion? Mandatory helmets for all drivers. Now, helmets are only required on the highway and not in the city, where speeds are presumably slower (the distinction between highway and city – when a street becomes a highway – is one that Kris and I have yet to figure out. It’s like growing old. You don’t really notice it and all of a sudden you realize you are there).
At any rate, it seems a huge public health problem for which there appears no easy solution, or perhaps no solution at all! Talk about an adult education program! Now there is some potential.
posted by John at 12:00 PM
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