A retired Japanese expert on traffic has spent almost one month staying put at a bridge in central Vietnam’s Da Nang City, in hopes that his meticulous records and study will help improve the country’s traffic, which may scare off many foreigners when they first arrive, and minimize fatality in road accidents.

In the past one month, Saito Takeshi, 69, one of Japan’s leading experts on traffic, has stood at Tran Phu- Le Duan intersection at one end of the bridge over the Han River - one of Da Nang City’s icons.

From 4am to 8.30pm day in day out, the retired expert braves the elements, even in rainy weather, to measure, take notes and snap photos of the passing traffic.

Takeshi, who hails from Saitama Urawa, Japan, retired nine years ago.

During those years, he has spent time in Hanoi and Da Nang studying the country’s traffic.

Tran Phu - Le Duan intersection is part of the Da Nang Traffic Information Platform (DTRIP), a project to improve urban traffic conditions. Technically supported by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and launched in April 2014, the project aims to enhance the capacity to assess urban traffic management and cater to the central city’s demand for development orientation.

Takeshi’s job is to monitor and make records of the traffic at the intersection.

His accurate records and calculations will be based on to produce an algorithm which can cause the monitor cameras to automatically swap the traffic signs dependant on the traffic volume.

A citizen of a modern country where traffic is scientifically monitored, Takeshi shared that his greatest wish is to improve Vietnam’s traffic conditions and minimize casualty in road accidents.

In his opinion, Vietnam is among the countries with the highest numbers of traffic accidents and dead victims.

“The ratio of accidents and fatality in Vietnam is alarmingly high, with the number of accidents and casualty being virtually equal. By comparison, that ratio is quite low in Japan, with only one dead victim in every 100 road accidents. Our project begins with pedestrians- the most vulnerable subject,” Takeshi explained.

The Japanese expert pointed out that data and statistics on road accidents remain unreliable and inadequate.

He worked for 41 years as a traffic researcher with Japan’s Police Department, where he put forward hypotheses in traffic.

Many of his hypotheses have been actualized and launched in Japan’s major cities, including Tokyo and Nagasaki.

The expert once taught in traffic at Hanoi People’s Police Academy.

“My only daughter is a singer, and I have two adorable grandchildren. So I’ve devoted the rest of my life to helping Vietnam,” Takeshi shared.

Hoang Minh Phuong, a Vietnamese engineer with DTRIP project, said that he and his colleagues are really impressed with the seasoned expert’s devotion, punctuality and responsibility.

Takeshi sleeps only four hours a day, and spends all his waking time studying the data.

The Japanese man always has an A4 paper with him, in which he jotted down his favorite Vietnamese dishes, so that he can order them exactly at shops.

“I find Vietnamese people are friendly, sincere and emotional just as the Japanese are, which gives me warmth. I really wish to do something for your country,” Takeshi shared.

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