After reviewing articles and comments on expressway pile-ups since Tet, a stubborn mindset among many drivers is apparent. Even among VnExpress readers, often highly educated, many believe maintaining a minimum speed absolves them of yielding. Others mistakenly view the left lane as safe, only requiring a check to the right.

If the left lane is truly safe, how do you explain the majority of pile-ups occurring there? Answering the following questions might clarify which lane you should occupy:

First, why do developed countries worldwide designate the left lane for overtaking, with general traffic flowing in the right lane (regardless of whether a road has two or three one-way lanes)?

Second, Vietnamese law states that slower vehicles should keep to the right. If you are traveling at 90 km/h, but another vehicle wishes to go 120 km/h, why should the faster vehicle change lanes to overtake instead of you yielding?

Third, the law also requires drivers to yield when road conditions are clear and safe, and another vehicle signals to pass (irrespective of your current speed). Why, then, do some drivers fail to yield?

Fourth, if you drive slowly in the left lane, are you not concerned a faster vehicle might lose control and collide with yours? This risk decreases significantly if you use the right lane, where vehicles typically maintain similar speeds.

While questions one to three address legal compliance, question four directly impacts your and your family's safety. Given this, why persist in hogging the left lane? Is the risk worth it?

For the safety of yourself and your family, please drive with awareness and understanding, not with stubbornness. Drive safely.

Reader Nguyen Khoa