Video: The insanity of moto-commuting in Saigon

We learned to ride on bikes like these, and zipping around at full throttle just takes me back to those early years. But what I don’t always consider is that for many people, small motorcycles like these are daily transportation, totally necessary to everyday life.

Like you, I know scooters move millions of people every day in places like Saigon. But have you ever seen what all that moto traffic actually looks like? Or considered how so many bikes on the same road would work? I’d like to introduce you to Hurley.

Hurley’s an American living in Vietnam, and he’s chronicling his experiences on his YouTube channel. Like most road users in Saigon, Hurley does the scoot-commute to work on streets packed with two-wheelers. (The few cars look completely out of place.) Although learning to ride with Vietnamese traffic was “like being on a roller coaster… for the first time,” Hurley’s got the system pretty well figured out after four years.

My favorite part, aside from the “human shield” bit and the one-bike-wide alley sprints, is the experience of seeing the complete opposite of American traffic. But just like commuters here, they’re wholly nonplussed. It’s just another trip home from the office. (Certainly fewer people texting while driving, though!) Thankfully, Hurley’s observations and laid-back attitude make sense of an otherwise chaotic trip though Saigon’s streets and alleys.

“Expect people to do what you would never expect them to do.” Words to live by, Mr. Hurley.