Reality on the expressway section through Ha Tinh clearly shows this. According to records in the article "Not enough rest stops, the expressway through Ha Tinh still has potential risks during Tet" in Lao Dong Newspaper, throughout more than 100km of the expressway, there is only one temporary rest stop in Cam Hung commune operating. Every day near Tet, nearly 1,000 vehicles flock here, at many times overloaded, customers have to wait for places to eat and rest.
The story is not just missing a stopover. It is a story about safety, health and the psychology of the driver.
The expressway is designed for high-speed, continuous traffic, limiting intersections. But precisely because of this, if there are not enough rest stops, drivers can easily fall into a dilemma: tired but not knowing where to stop for safety.
Many people choose temporary solutions: Stopping in the emergency lane to take a nap, quickly eating lunch boxes, taking young children to the toilet. Images of trucks and cars parked close together in the emergency lane are no longer unfamiliar. But the emergency lane is not a place for rest. That is the "last safe zone" for incident situations.
Just one sudden collision, a driver lacks observation, the consequences can be very serious. In the context of Tet holiday, traffic volume increases sharply, the psychological pressure on drivers is even greater. They both want to go home early and have to strain themselves to hold the steering wheel for hundreds of kilometers. Lack of rest stops means prolonging continuous stressful time.
Many people think the rest stop is just to "fuel up, eat a bowl of noodles". But in reality, it is an important link in modern transport infrastructure.
A standard rest stop must meet many needs: cleanliness, rest area, refueling, basic rescue, and even initial medical support. For families with young children, the elderly, and pregnant women, it is a place to "relieve pressure" after many hours of driving.
Tet is always the most severe "test" for traffic infrastructure. When all traffic flows converge at the same time, bottlenecks are immediately revealed.It is not possible to just consider rest stops as a "sub-part" of the project.
If the road has been opened to traffic but essential services are not ready, people are still the first to bear the risk.
It is time to change the approach: Rest stops must be considered compulsory infrastructure, simultaneously with the main route. It is impossible to let the situation where the road has been exploited, but the rest stop "runs behind".
Hopefully in the upcoming Tet seasons, the worry of "lack of rest stops" will no longer be constant for those far from home. Because a complete journey of reunion must start from safety on every kilometer back.
