Cell Phone Madness

Does that young lady driving the car next to you scare you a little bit?  We’ve all seen people eating burgers, putting on makeup, or talking on a mobile phone while driving.

How about talking on the mobile phone while riding a môto?   It was Sunday morning when I took this, therefore I doubt this gentleman was making a business call.  Maybe he was calling his girlfriend to meet him for coffee.  At least the traffic was fairly light on Lê Lọi Street, one of the main drags through Huê.

But not so with this young lady.  She was on another busy street and appeared to be paying no attention to the other riders around her.  I also wondered about the person on the other end of the conversation.  Between the noise made by the wind and the muffling of her mask, I would think she would be close to unintelligible.

This young man was on the same street going in the opposite direction.  He was riding very slowly, trying hard to be safe, yet he occasionally wobbled and almost knocked a young girl off her bicycle.  The saving grace of the Vietnamese using their mobile phones while driving is that the speeds are so slow.  Most of these riders were going about 30 kilometers per hour – about 18 mph.

Scary to think of what it will be like when they have freeways in Việt Nam, eh?

Comments

[Dell Inspiron 1501.....but my friends call me J. Bradford!]

Hey, Guy! Sounds like you're in your element! I have one group of 7th grade Social Studies who want to correspond when they begin to study Viet Nam. I'll be doing a bit of instructing meself....Then I have a 7th grade science class that wanna figure out how to tie in with VN. Finally, I have a 7th grade language arts class, who's teacher wants them to work on narrative correspondence. Nguyen Goldblatt says," I always hold my wife's hand when we go out in public in Saigon. If I don't.....she shops!!!!" Some Saigon cowboy stole my credit cards. I'm not reporting it.....he spends less than my wife!!!!!" Why do Vietnamese Jewish guys die before their wives? 'cause they wanna!!!!!! Rigby Ashes One Zero.......OUT!

[Binh]

Doug,
It's great to know that you've arrived "home" safely and that your friend, Mr. Cu, is doing OK; at least he's not getting worse.

I've just returned to DC after a short trip to VN, and although I'm physically here, my heart and mind are still there. Now, I finally understand why VN is such a hypnotic and exciting place. Once you step out into the street, you'll immediately get an adrenalin rush as you see your life flashes before you. Who would forget such an experience, a close encounter with DEATH? No wonder people would come back for more. This explains why Vietnamese coffee is so strong. My theory is that people in Vietnam need a strong dose of caffeine to keep them "on their toes."

One would think it's scary that those three people in the picture talk on their cell phone while driving. Try imagining people using their modile phone while driving with a CHILD riding on the front or the back seat! Now, that's scary, and that was what I saw.

Anyway, be safe, be dry, and semper fi! Oops, you were in the Army, not the Marines. But the meaning applies.
Binh