Human Shields?

[Tim]
So, I wrote about motorcycling and totally neglected to talk about the use of local drivers as my human shields.  So sorry.

The thing is, when approaching an intersection you are going to be heading into oncoming traffic at some point, regardless of whether it's a cross street or roundabout.  Remember the trout swimming upstream?  If you're very lucky, some other trout might also be wanting to turn left at the same crossing, so the lady with the toddler standing between her knees can go ahead of you splitting the traffic to her right and left, and you just slide in behind.  Easy.

There is a huge roundabout on this side (east) of the river.  You might think roundabouts would be easy, but this is a huge one, and not for the faint of heart.  I'm using the word "lanes" of traffic here with a little bit of poetic license, but to the best of my count the roundabout handles 28 lanes of traffic, mostly going north and south.  It's a maelstrom.  The semitrucks have the right-of-way--just go ahead and say that first.  After that everyone kind of just slows down and merges into the traffic coming broadside at you from your left.

So the strategy when I'm heading to the city center (B) from our home in Son Tra (A) is to find another motorbike who is also entering the fray, and carefully stay to her right.  The northbound motorbikes veer to her fore and aft, and I am protected like a spacecraft is protected by heat-shields on re-entry.  I make it over to the calm area just north of the traffic circle, and now the main body of traffic is coming from the north, our right.

Now it's my turn to be on the outside, providing a shield for the girl who shielded me in the first half of our roundabout adventure, right?  I am willing, but usually I look around for someone else to use as a human shield for my right side as we navigate through oncoming south-bound traffic over to the bridge.

And I love the people here, so I feel a bit bad about my tendency to think of them as human shields.