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in Beijing they say they drive cars with the lights off to conserve the batteries.

    Just don't understand why they would ride their scooter without lights on at night! Sometimes I even see cars without lights but less often than scooters. I understand the you need to avoid me mentality but they can't avoid you if they can't see you. I can see the brake lights when they apply the brakes so it's not that there's an electrical issue. Is it cool to ride with no lights? Can someone explain?
   

    -@qnbui

What have your local Vietnamese friends told you?

    Just don't understand why they would ride their scooter without lights on at night! Sometimes I even see cars without lights but less often than scooters. I understand the you need to avoid me mentality but they can't avoid you if they can't see you. I can see the brake lights when they apply the brakes so it's not that there's an electrical issue. Is it cool to ride with no lights? Can someone explain?
        -@qnbui

Yeah, it's quite common, and aggravating.

From what I've observed over the years...

#1) Forgot to turn it on at dusk

#2) Burned out headlight bulb not yet replaced

#3) Trying to extend the life of a weak/dying battery, or a weak/dying alternator

#4) Damaged wiring and/or corroded connectors on harness

I don't think it has anything to do with their trying to look cool, especially among the younger folk. In most cases where I see a bike with no front light at night it's being ridden by a guy who's trying hard to make ends meet. And the bike looks like it's had a rough life, too.

Alternatively, it's ridden by local street level homies, who know the road so well they don't need the light (the bike knows its way home)

I once broached this topic with the wife and she told me without hesitation that it was to save gas.   Of course the amount saved is so small as to be immeasurable.   The problem is made worse by the lack of real law enforcement of traffic rules.  It wouldn't take many tickets, payable in court, to put an end to the practice. Instead VN has ticket traps designed to be settled with cash for the officers involved.

When I was a teen learning to drive my father taught me that headlights were not for me to see, but for others to see me.   

@THIGV

For the common folk, law enforcement such as traffic laws, impeccably dressed tan uniformed traffic police really provide little to everyday citizens a d residents. It is the lack of integrity that rules.

mAC

@OceanBeach92107 I asked my friend and she sounded surprised. She said maybe they forgot to turn on the lights but there's too many people riding without lights to all forgetting to turn on their lights especially when you can't see the road ahead. Then she jokingly said maybe it's a new gang thing. I'll go with Aidan's theory that they are trying to somehow save gas.

...I'll go with Aidan's theory that they are trying to somehow save gas.
        -@qnbui

THIGV 's theory

    ...I'll go with Aidan's theory that they are trying to somehow save gas.        -@qnbui

THIGV 's theory
-@Aidan in HCMC

Sorry, THIGV 's theory!

        ...I'll go with Aidan's theory that they are trying to somehow save gas.        -@qnbuiTHIGV 's theory-@Aidan in HCMC

Sorry, THIGV 's theory!
   

    -@qnbui

No need for attribution but actually it is my wife's idea.   In actuality you would probably need to run all night for a year to save even a liter of gas.   I had forgotten that in VN (and I assume Britain) what goes in the car or bike is petrol and gas is propane for the stove and water heater.  In VN. I tried once leaving my lights on intentionally during the day and several people flashed their lights to me, probably with good intentions.   Some autos now have always-on lights but I don't know about motorbikes.   With LED lights the power used is even less than before.

@THIGV My motorbike's headlights are on once the engine is running. There's no way to turn it off, just low/high beams.

@qnbui Wait a minute, here raiders don't respect zebra lines or sidewalks... and you're only worried about why they don't use their lights?

I have been told by a number of people here that they leave their lights off " to save fuel".

When they ask why do I have my lights on in the daytime (as well as night time) I say: "to save my life".

@saigondave2

Ha ha ha Ho Ho Ho that’s a good one…to save fuel.

Makes me wonder if they would like to save a life - maybe their own?

It's a common misconception among the populace that it is illegal to ride with your headlight on during daylight hours. It is not illegal, confirmed by the local police.

I ride with my "day-time running light" on all the time.

@qnbui Wait a minute, here raiders don't respect zebra lines or sidewalks... and you're only worried about why they don't use their lights? - @ajairon

I'm glad you mentioned the 'elephant in the room' Ajairon. (just catching up with this interesting thread). I was in HCMC & Da Nang recently and if there was one thing that I found infuriating is not so much the zebra lines (where in Asia does?) but the riding of bikes on the pavements, sidewalks to our American friends   and also the parking of bikes blocking pedestrian access necessitating stepping into the busy traffic. Bikes unlike cars can suddenly come out of nowhere. I enjoy walking whenever I can. It is the only way to really see a city. This was one avenue of pleasure that was somewhat truncated and the only true black mark on an otherwise enjoyable time in the country. It beggars belief what the transition to quieter EV bikes will mean for pedestrians particularly those hard of hearing.😬

I'm currently in Jakarta which has about as many bikes as HCMC has but generally speaking the bikes stick to the roads.

It would be interesting to know the number of fatalities of bikers & pedestrians in Vietnam without headlights and/or riding on pavements.