Driving is a preferred way to explore Vietnam, as public transport services outside of large cities are usually overcrowded or non-existent.
Despite the government's hostility to private transport (due to being a communist country), Vietnam is a car-dependent country (or in some cities, a motorcycle-dependent country). While rail services exist, unlike in Japan, Vietnamese rail services are usually late, thus a car is preferred to get around outside of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City or other large cities. Generally, English proficiency tends to be poor among the emergency services including the police, thus knowing a bit of Vietnamese may be useful.
The total length of the Vietnamese road system is about with 19.0% paved, mainly national roads and provincial roads (source: Vietnam Road Administration, 2004). The national road system length is with 27.6% of its length paved. The provincial road system is of length with 23.6% paved. The road network is relatively well developed, but is usually in poor condition.
Vietnam's road system is classified according to the administrative hierarchy:
Vietnamese road signage follows international conventions and are a mix of road signs used in Europe and Greece. <gallery> File:Vietnam road sign W211a.svg|Like Greece and Poland, warning signs are yellow triangles with a black symbol. File:Vietnam road sign P106a.svg|Regulatory signs are a red circle with a slash for prohibitions... File:Vietnam road sign R303.svg|...and a blue circle for mandatated actions. File:Vietnam road sign P127-50.svg|Speed limits are posted in km/h. </gallery>