A woman crashes into me while trying to beat 4 seconds of green light

By Dao Hung   July 10, 2024 | 04:52 pm PT
Ho Chi Minh City is trialing the removal of countdown timers from traffic lights. I believe the presence of the timers is not as important as drivers' traffic awareness.

Let me share my own story of how the timers meant different things to different people, leading to a collision.

That day, I was about 30 meters from the traffic lights, and the timers showed there were four seconds left of green light. I guessed that wouldn’t be enough time for me to cross the intersection, so I slowed down and was prepared to stop when the light turned red.

But right behind me, a woman was speeding up, trying to cross the intersection while it was still green. She drove so fast that she lost control of her motorbike and hit me from behind before falling onto the road.

She then stood up and scolded me, blaming me for her fall. I had to take her to a nearby clinic for a check-up. The doctor concluded that she only had some scratches, so she demanded that I cover the payment for her medicine and the repair of her motorbike.

I just wanted to save myself from the messy situation, so I gave her some money and left.

My story shows that different kinds of traffic lights, signals, and instructions do not mean anything if drivers decide to beat them instead of following them.

No matter how many traffic signals there are, if people's awareness is low, road crashes are still imminent.

Improving traffic signals is one thing. The authorities need to improve people’s awareness through education and penalties.

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