After two months in Vietnam, we have learned a few things about the rules of the road here.
1. The first rule of the road here is to forget everything you know about the rules of the road.
2. Anything goes. I have never seen anyone pulled over for any type of traffic violation. (I got a whistle blown at me when I tried to ride the electric bike down a pedestrian street. I was redirected to another street.)
3. Traffic lights are merely a suggestion. Green means go. Yellow means go faster. Red means stop....if you want. Never assume you can cross the road as a pedestrian when the light is red. Traffic will always continue in both directions.
4. If you have a horn or a bell, use it. Beep if you approach an intersection, an alley, a pedestrian, a car, another bike, a fly....you get the picture.
5. The Vietnamese are masters of physics. The trick is to maintain your speed at a constant rate at all costs. It doesn't matter if you're on a motorbike, a bicycle or walking....they will go around you. If you slow down, you will mess up their calculations. They know your rate and have calculated when you will reach them so just continue with confidence and it will work out.
6. Street markings mean nothing. Lines dividing the road are ignored. Pass on the left, pass on the right, pass the person passing someone else. Drive into oncoming traffic and no one bats an eye. (See also #4 and #5)
7. There is no road rage. It is what it is. You may get a second look, but nothing will come of it.
8. Sometimes the busier intersections have traffic lights with a counter telling you how many seconds you have until the light changes. If you have chosen to stop, you start driving three seconds before the timer says go. Again, physics...once you get to the intersection, it will be green.
9. Wear a helmet. Most people here wear helmets...they may not be strapped on, but they usually have them. Safety first, right?
10. Not so much a rule as a reminder: remember to charge your electric bike. I underestimated the length of the charge once and I ran out on my way back from dropping my daughter off at a friend's place on the other side of Hoi An. It was like an episode of Mr. Bean. I was going at a turtle's pace passing people's houses. I tried not to make eye contact as I feverishly peddled the bike that really wasn't meant to go far peddling. The locals must have had a good laugh.
I am sure there are more idiosyncratic road behaviors in Vietnam. These are the ones that I have learned and adopted. It's all good...if you know the rules.
Don't get distracted by what you see being carried on a motorbike. You'd be amazed by what can be piled onto a bike.