Riding Through the Chaos and 40 Years of Motortrade

Lately, my wife Shawie and my parents have been complaining about my behavior when I’m behind the wheel of a car. I must confess that when I’m driving instead of riding my motorcycle, I’ve become more impatient with the traffic violators I see on the road and when I have the chance to catch up with them, I reprimand them and tell them to respect the traffic laws. A lot of the times, the traffic violator, most of the time a driver of a public utility vehicle (PUV), will try to weasel out an excuse (Boss, nagmamadali lang ako. Pasensya na po…) but there are those who will try to intimidate me instead. (Bakit, pulis ka ba? Anong pakialam mo?) Some will even try to challenge me to a fist fight. Now I know where road rage starts…

My dad, who’s a lawyer, always reminds me to stay out of trouble while my mom and my wife would always remind me to stay cool for the sake of our young children. When our friends at the Land Transportation Office (LTO) found out about my actions, they wanted to deputize me as a Traffic Enforcement Officer but I declined because I felt that I’d get into real trouble if I did, especially with the corruption in traffic enforcement among the MMDA, the police and the local government units (LGU).

So, after some deep soul searching, I decided to follow my loved ones’ advice and stop becoming a traffic vigilante. It’s quite hard to bite my lip when I see a traffic violator and not reprimand him or her. I keep thinking, “What if my wife or dad or sister was driving and they would encounter an accident because of some idiot behind the wheel of another vehicle, who’s wrongly convinced that he’s doing right by wantonly violating traffic laws like driving without headlights at night, crossing a red light, driving or parking against the flow of traffic, crossing an intersection without stopping or slowing down, suddenly stopping in the middle of the road to load or unload passengers, and making a mockery of all known traffic laws? Can I just stand idle while several idiotic PUV drivers cause a traffic bottleneck by making an illegal roadside terminal and wasting the time of all road users passing that area?”

I look at the policemen sitting contently in their airconditioned patrol cars and at MMDA and LGU traffic enforcers huddled and chatting while serious traffic violations are being committed right under their noses, and I say to my self, “Why should I do their jobs for them? What for?” It’s becoming infuriating and I bet that some of you, our dear readers, are feeling the frustration as well. Perhaps, this is how the vigilantes in Davao started.

Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, a French social commentator and political thinker who lived during the Era of the Enlightenment (1700’s France) preached a philosophy that “government should be set up so that no man need be afraid of another”. This became an inspiration for the American Constitution, which also became a basis for our own Constitution. However, looking at the traffic chaos on our roads and the rampant corruption in our system, it seems that the present government has forgotten all about our Constitutional rights. Even our elected government representatives, the senators, the congressmen, the governors, mayors and councilors are the habitual violators of our traffic laws. If they can’t safeguard road safety and follow the most menial of traffic laws, how can we trust them with the interests of our nation and the future of our children? Other than our Heavenly Father, who else can we trust?

Thankfully, I can just jump on my motorcycle, ride off and escape all this madness. On my bike, I enjoy some freedom and get rewarded with some consolation that I can find a gap in traffic, no matter how small, and just ride through it. Along with the escape from the traffic chaos, I also get to escape from the vertical, no matter how brief, and gather my thoughts during a ride. This brief escapade helps me keep my sanity on the road and while it’s a bit selfish, riding a motorcycle reminds me that there’s still a good reason to be on the road. Thank God for small, two-wheeled favors!

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Speaking of motorcyclists, there are now more than 4 million motorcycles on the road and the growing population of bikers is beginning to change the landscape of major Philippine thoroughfares. Additionally, many of these motorcycles were bought from one company – the biggest motorcycle dealer in the country – Motortrade.

Motortrade started in the late ‘60s in Daet, Camarines Norte when Vicente Ongtenco, a local businessman, started selling Honda motorcycles which were consigned to him by Mariwasa-Honda, the brand’s Philippine distributor during those times. In those days, motorcycles were being sold alongside other items, and in Mr. Ongtenco’s case, he was selling the motorbikes in his hardware store, and most were financed in-house since the buyers were just above the poverty borderline. Financing motorcycles was, and still is, a high-risk business.

Mr. Ongtenco would always recall that one of his fondest memories in his business was when a customer thanked him for financing a motorcycle, which was attached to a side car to make a tricycle. The customer told Mr. Ongtenco that he was eternally grateful for the motorcycle loan because his tricycle helped put his kids to school. The customer paid his loan religiously and Mr. Ongtenco was inspired to selflessly grow his business so he can help more people.

Forty years later, Motortrade has grown to more than 300 branches nationwide, marketing six motorcycle brands – Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha, Kymco and MCX – and has become the largest nationwide motorcycle dealership network in the Philippines. By their accounts, they have sold around 940,000 motorcycles since they started and as a gesture of gratitude to their customers, they are working on a promotion to award the buyer of the one millionth motorcycle sold through Motortrade.

To celebrate their 40th Anniversary, Motortrade will launch their “1M@40” campaign (One Million Units at 40 Years) with a Biker’s Night at the Hard Rock Café in Glorietta 3 Ayala Malls in Makati on June 25 (Thursday). They will also conduct exclusive motorcycle shows in Lucena, Tarlac, Cebu, Davao, Vigan, and in Metro Manila from August to December, 2009 which they will dub as the “Motortrade Fiesta” road show series. The Metro Manila leg in December will be their culminating event where the one millionth customer will be announced. It promises to be lots of fun so if you’re planning to buy a motorcycle from now until December, Motortrade seems like an ideal dealer to buy from since you could win prizes as well.

Motortrade is proof that selflessness can help build a business that can help shape the future of a nation. Like what the narration said in the old “Knight Rider” series from the ‘80s, “one man can make a difference…”

Here are some Backseat Driver reactions to James Deakin’s “Road Bullies” from last week…

Here are the numbers of the PNP Traffic Management Group you can report these “wang-wang” idiots to: Traffic Management Group Direct Lines: 722-8107 725-3815 721-8516 Or via PNP Trunkline: 723-0401. – amang

I commute going to my office. Yesterday I rode a colorum Mitsubishi Adventure fitted with a “wang-wang” and the funny thing was as the driver was jockeying for position with another vehicle, both were using their “wang-wangs”. Hahaha... I can see the surprise in the face of our driver. – ka_dante

What about if ganito gawin natin pag may “wang-wang”? We will keep our position at huwag tayong tumabi. We will just make an excuse that “tumirik sasakyan namin eh...” Then we report them to TMC, as amang suggested. Although TMC would be happy not because they could get at the big fish, but because TMC would be happy for you to give them a new income stream. – Austonian

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