About a month ago, we got a real eye opening experience when we joined the MMDA in their crusade to enforce the laws, regulations and rules of the road.
We saw how challenging it was for them to do so with the inadequate resources and equipment at their disposal, while at the same time having to walk the tight line between what’s right and our society’s minefield called (padrino) politics
But what if they didn’t have all these hindrances in their way? What if they had the resources, the right equipment and, more importantly, the political will to do what needs to be done?
What if they can enforce every single rule, law, regulation or ordinance that they could? What would Metro Manila be like?
Certainly, a lot of jeepneys would be off the streets… for the obvious reasons. Smoke belching, reckless driving, headlamps switched off, illegal loading and unloading are just the tips of that disastrous iceberg.
And the buses… those damn buses. Imagine a drive along EDSA when every violation is handed out to these buses, drivers, conductors and transport companies. Obstruction, smoke belching, illegal lane changes, reckless driving, illegal loading and unloading, colorum, out-of-line, dilapidated motor vehicles, busted taillights, so on and so forth. You name it and chances are a bus will be caught for it.
How about those taxi and FX drivers too? Those tricycle drivers? Weaving, helmet-less motorcycle riders? I can already imagine the long lines at the MMDA or the local government traffic office (or equivalent). But most of all, I look forward to seing a more disciplined Metro Manila road network, a place where laws are followed and no reckless act goes unpunished… or unticketed.
Can you imagine it? Sounds good right? I actually feel better just thinking about it.
However, as with anything, be careful what you wish for.
It’s common for us to think of these things and always view it as an “us versus them” kind of situation. Chances are, if you’re reading this, you fall under the “us” category: private car drivers who take their cars to work, school, to the mall, out to party with friends, to church and the like.
What you may forget is that we’re all on the same boat… and all of us, ideally, come under the same unforgiving microscope, with no regard for social class, status, education level or how much money we have in the bank. Ah yes, the law of unintended consequences.
Think about it. What if the government agencies had the power to really go after every single traffic violation? The little illegal lane changes, misuse of horns, high beams, illegal parking and counterflows. How many times have you found yourself in the middle of an intersection because you advanced in traffic and ended up stuck in that yellow box when the light went red? How many times have you texted or made a call while driving? How many times have you stayed on the fast lane without actually overtaking a car on the NLEX or SLEX? If you’ve been caught ignoring a stop sign in Subic before, imagine if they could do that in Manila… or the whole country.
And they don’t have to catch you on the spot. What if the MMDA’s request for 100 more traffic cameras came true? Can you imagine what it’s like if they just served you a bunch of tickets at your home or place of work for running red lights in the middle of the night, exceeding speed limits (which, if I’m not mistaken, is set at 60 km/h on all the Metro’s streets, not just Commonwealth and Macapagal Ave.), or even just texting and calling while driving? Yes, it would seem like Big Brother really is watching… or martial law is back
Sadly, none of us are righteous enough to say that we’re clean, rule-following, law-abiding drivers. Our flawed system has allowed and tolerated us to develop a few -if not many- bad habits. If the government can find the means and the will to do this, we would be lining up to pay long and numerous traffic citations. All of us.
The strange thing is that whenever we Filipinos go abroad, to a country that has strict traffic rules and laws, we actually end up as some of the nicest, most law-abiding and most courteous drivers on the road. It’s like we’re bipolar; a quick flip of a a switch and we instantly drive with halos over our heads when we’re behind the wheel of a car… in another country.
Why can’t we do it here?
Just something to think about.
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Vince Pornelos
Associate Editor
www.AutoIndustriya.com
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