Wednesday, October 13, 2010

A Bad Sign


For me, this sign is the best reminder to drive carefully in Hanoi. Positioned on the corner of Kim Ma and Nguyen Chi Thanh, this sign keeps track of traffic accidents and fatalities "Yesterday", "This Year" and "Last Year." So far this year there have been only 316 fatalities and 335 accidents compared to 492 and 522 last year. I'm pretty sure these numbers are only for Hanoi and not nationwide. However, I could be wrong there.

The reason I took this picture on this night, rather than the first 100 times I stopped near it was because:
1. I had a full minute at the traffic light before it was gonna turn green again.
2. I was shocked that there were no accidents or fatalities "yesterday." The optimist in me says that people are becoming better drivers. However, the realist in me says that the government didn't want to post any bad news that day since I took this during the 1,000th anniversary of Hanoi.