NU6 by GG, Str Regis,"What pisses you off?"

What pisses you off at the neighborhood? What do you suggest?

Unruly drivers of public utility vehicles such as commuter vans, PUJ, tricycle and bus drivers is what pisses me off on the road during travel. Traffic is one of the most irritating problems we encounter daily whether we are going to work, going to school, visiting family or friends or simply going the mall on a weekend. Add this up to drivers without discipline makes you loose your temper in the early hour of the day which could affect you for the rest of the day. These irritating drivers are also one cause of simple accident you see from time to time. I’ve tried to do some research on information about accidents in the Philippines and I saw some fact sheets from the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) posted May 16, 2007. Here’s the reference and link   http://www.nscb.gov.ph/factsheet/pdf07/fs5_16.asp. Though the date is old, the information is quite useful.

From the data gathered in 2006, the type of vehicle that is involved in traffic accident is top by automobile at 27%, followed by motorcycle at 20.7% and jeepney at 19.2%. Accident involving tricycle is at 5^th at 10.9% and bus at 7^th with 7.6%. The number one cause of accident is driver’s error which is 27.8% or 4,182 out of 15,064 accidents recorded in 2006. Other causes are mechanical defect, over speeding and use of cellular phones.

Although there are no data saying discipline is the root cause of accident, by merely seeing traffic rules being violated by this drivers is a fact. We also notice this bad behavior in merging roads. Instead of yielding or alternately allowing the other lane to pass through, drivers of this public utility vehicle push their vehicles closer to you so you won’t be able to overtake them. And my other observation, turn signals means you have to yield and slow down. It does not mean that you have to push on the accelerator pedal.

Since majority of this violators and stubborn drivers spend most of their time on the road, my recommendation is to bring the information to the road regarding traffic rules and promote good and discipline driving habits. Government can use the new technology as part of this improvement. Provide more road signs on merging traffic. Illustrate yielding of vehicle to give way and ease traffic. In manufacturing, best practice and good discipline are illustrated and posted in manufacturing floors and bulletin boards where people can always see and remember them. This can be applied to our community. The information on accidents trends and violators charts can also be shown in Land Transportation Offices (LTO) or other government institutions. Another recommendation is to show digital videos regarding road discipline and traffic rules at Land Transportation Offices (LTO) instead of playing local movies or noontime shows. This would make drivers be more informed while waiting for their license or car registration for 4 hours. Come to think of it, this long waiting time at LTO offices also piss me off. What new things can we do to be more productive in this time? Hmmm, another new idea . . .Great Idea:   but police and LTO must make money on these driver's error.   4