On October 7, a clip was circulated on social media showing a taxi driver stopping his car in the emergency lane of the elevated Ring Road 3 (Hanoi). He turned on the car’s hazard lights, signaled for the right of way, and then picked up broken bricks that had fallen in the middle of the road.
The clip has received thousands of interactions. In the comments section, social media users praised the male driver for clearing the road, reducing the risk to the vehicles behind.
Speaking with Lao Dong, Mr. Nguyen Van Hien (Hanoi) confirmed that he was the taxi driver appearing in the clip.
Mr. Hien said that on October 4, he traveled from Nguyen Trai Street to Dong Anh District. After traveling about 1km from Nguyen Trai Street to the elevated Ring Road 3, Mr. Hien encountered many broken bricks on the road.
"I saw a lot of bricks falling on the road, while vehicles were moving on the elevated Ring Road 3 at high speed, it would be very dangerous if I encountered them. So I stopped the car, turned on the warning lights and then neatly carried the bricks to one side," Hien recounted.
Mr. Hien estimated that there were about 100 bricks scattered on the traffic lane. Many of them had been crushed by other vehicles. Every time he moved to the middle of the road, he stacked 15-17 bricks into a pile and then carried them neatly into the emergency lane.
"It took me about 6 trips to clean up all the scattered bricks. Only when I saw there were no more bricks in the traffic lane did I get back in the car and continue moving," said Mr. Hien.
Mr. Hien said that when he was clearing bricks from the road, he was only thinking about how to prevent people behind him from being in danger. Because when moving at high speed and encountering obstacles such as bricks, it can cause broken car windows, skidding, and the risk of accidents.
"I have been driving for about 20 years now and have been a taxi driver for more than 2 months. I have traveled a lot on the road so I understand how dangerous it is to encounter such obstacles," said Mr. Hien.
Mr. Hien was surprised when after 3 days, his photos were widely shared on social networks.
Speaking to Lao Dong, the commander of the traffic police team managing this area said that this was an urgent situation, the male driver had put the car in the emergency lane, turned on the warning light and used measures to fix the traffic situation in an urgent situation (the situation of broken bricks falling on the road). Therefore, the male driver above will not be punished.
"This is a beautiful act for the community. Because if the above situation is not resolved, falling bricks can endanger people and other vehicles participating in traffic" - this person said.
