Riding Skills & Safety Planning
Trucks and Buses Beside You in Hanoi: Blind Spots and Where Not to Ride
About 7 minutes to read
For anyone riding near trucks and buses in Hanoi, the question the pages keep returning to is whether the driver of a large vehicle can see a motorbike in that spot. The guide gathers what Vietnam’s Traffic Police Department, the Ho Chi Minh City traffic police, a report on a Hanoi police video, a United States federal agency and the UK Highway Code say about blind spots, turns and stopping space. Pages were read on 26 October 2026 and may have changed since.
An item in the Research and Exchange section of the Traffic Police Department (Cục Cảnh sát giao thông) website, dated 10 September 2026, says that if a rider cannot see the mirror of a truck or container driver, the driver very possibly cannot see the rider. FMCSA, the United States Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, gives a similar test for trucks and buses, worded more firmly (if you cannot see the driver’s face in the mirror, the driver cannot see you), on a page last updated 29 September 2026, and the Ho Chi Minh City traffic police item of 12 May 2025 applies it to the side of a vehicle. UK Highway Code Rule 161 adds that mirrors do not cover all areas and there will be blind spots. The Traffic Police Department closes with a warning: seeing a large vehicle is not the same as being safe; safety exists only where its driver can see you and you have enough distance and time to react.
Four places the pages say not to ride
| Position | What the pages say |
|---|---|
| Just ahead of the cab | The Ho Chi Minh City item says a truck or container driver’s seat is usually higher than a car driver’s, narrowing the view close to the front. For two-wheeled riders it says not to move ahead of the vehicle, too close to its front, or squeeze into the space ahead of it, even when the vehicle is stopped. |
| Directly behind | The same item puts the rear blind area at 60 m from the tail and says two-wheeled riders should not stop or park behind a truck or container. The Traffic Police Department says not to follow close behind: it limits the view ahead, and a hard brake or an obstacle leaves no time to react. |
| Alongside | The Ho Chi Minh City item places the side zone near the joint between cab and cargo body and advises against riding close beside or parallel. The Traffic Police Department says not to ride parallel for a long time. |
| Inside a bend, or in the gap by the kerb | The Traffic Police Department says a large vehicle’s rear wheels usually cut closer to the inside of a bend than its front, so riders should not squeeze alongside the inside of the curve or into the gap between the vehicle and the kerb, which it says can vanish within a few seconds. |
What the Hanoi police video is reported to show
A Công an nhân dân report dated 24 June 2026 says the traffic police division of Hanoi City Police (Phòng CSGT) posted a video simulating the view from a heavy truck’s cab to warn about its blind spots. According to the report, a motorbike rider, cyclist or pedestrian who gets too close to the front, rear or sides of a truck falls easily into the driver’s zone of blocked view. The video itself was not watched. The report says the video’s recommendations include: do not stop, park or ride parallel for too long beside a truck; keep a safe distance behind; do not try to overtake a truck that is turning or about to turn; and watch the heavy vehicle’s lights and direction of travel.
When the large vehicle turns
The Traffic Police Department’s third principle is direct: do not try to overtake on the right when a large vehicle is about to turn right. It explains that the vehicle may swing on a wide path while its rear wheels tend to run close to the inside. Its second principle says that once a truck, tractor unit or container has switched on a turn signal, a rider should slow down, keep distance and wait for the turn to finish. FMCSA, writing for United States traffic, says trucks and buses turning right may not be able to easily turn from the right lane and may first move left to create turning space. The UK Highway Code, written for traffic that keeps to the left (Rule 160), says long vehicles may need the whole width of the road at a junction (Rule 170) and may straddle lanes at a roundabout (Rule 187). Rule 182 adds, for a driver turning left, especially in a large vehicle, that cyclists, motorcyclists and other road users may be hidden from view.
Buses: stops, stopping distance and a thin evidence base
The Vietnamese blind-spot articles read speak of trucks, tractor units and containers, not buses. FMCSA groups buses with trucks: large blind spots, wide turns, and stopping distances of up to the length of two football fields. It advises staying a safe distance back when stopped behind a truck or bus, particularly on an incline, where large vehicles might roll backward. That tip is for passenger-vehicle drivers; for two-wheeled riders the Ho Chi Minh City item goes further and says not to stop or park behind a truck or container at all. A Hanoi Newspaper and Radio-Television item dated 25 October 2026 carries a summary line saying that, to limit collisions at bus stops, a traffic-safety expert says people driving or riding personal vehicles need to watch a bus’s turn signals, slow down and keep a safe distance, while bus drivers first of all need to follow the operating procedure when entering stops. The body is a video and could not be read. UK Rule 167 says not to overtake between the kerb and a bus or tram when it is at a stop.
The distances the pages give
| Figure | Where it appears | Caution |
|---|---|---|
| 60 m behind a truck | Ho Chi Minh City traffic police, 12 May 2025 | Not explained, and not repeated on the other pages; the same item also says other vehicles should stay at least 60 m from the truck |
| Up to two football fields to stop | FMCSA, United States | A stopping distance for trucks and buses, not a following distance |
| “Safe distance” or “drop back” | Traffic Police Department; Hanoi report; Highway Code Rule 164 | No number given |
A checking order built from the pages
This order is the guide’s own arrangement of the pages’ statements, not an official procedure.
- Look for the driver’s mirror; if it is out of sight, slow down and leave the blind spot when safe, says the Traffic Police Department.
- Read the signals; a turn signal means slow down and give way, says the Traffic Police Department, and the Hanoi video report adds not to overtake a truck that is turning or about to turn.
- Do not stop or park behind the vehicle or tuck in ahead of its cab, as the Ho Chi Minh City item advises.
- Leave the gap by the kerb and the inside of a bend alone, as the Traffic Police Department advises.
- At junctions, roundabouts and bus stops, keep a safe distance and slow down, as the Traffic Police Department and the Hanoi bus-stop summary say.
Related reading: Motorbike Mirror Blind Spots: Set a Stationary Reference Before Departure covers a rider’s own mirrors, and Following Distance in Stop-and-Go Hanoi Traffic: Leaving Space Without Being Boxed In covers room in queues. For signals, see Horns, Lanes and Flashing Lights in Hanoi: What Official and Manufacturer Pages Say About Signalling; for renting a scooter in Hanoi, see Hanoi Scooter Rental: Complete Guide for Travelers.
What the pages leave out
- No page measures a blind spot for a Hanoi truck or bus model, or on a Hanoi road.
- No Vietnamese blind-spot article read mentions buses.
- The 60 m figure stands alone; the Traffic Police Department item gives no distance.
- The Hanoi police video was not watched; only a news report of it was read.
- No page addresses small automatic scooters or rented bikes.
- FMCSA is written for passenger-vehicle drivers in the United States and the Highway Code for UK traffic; neither is a Vietnamese rule, and the UK text uses UK left and right.
- No page gives crash figures for Hanoi, or Hanoi truck and bus hours, routes or lane rules.
Sources checked
- Traffic Police Department: large-vehicle blind spots
- Ho Chi Minh City traffic police: truck blind spots
- Công an nhân dân: Hanoi blind-spot video
- Hanoi Newspaper and Radio-Television: bus stop safety
- FMCSA: tips around trucks and buses
- GOV.UK: Highway Code, using the road
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