Dear mayors, councilors, and local government officials

Hi, it’s me again. Sorry to keep harping, but I intend for this column to be a never-ending series of letters—much like a Rocky sequel, until some (if not all) of our ideas are implemented. I say ‘ours’ because I am speaking on behalf of the countless concerned motorists out there, many of which share their thoughts with me everyday through email, our website or social media. I’ve happily volunteered to be their voice in these issues, so the best way to get me to stop going on about it is to start doing something about it. Please.

Last week, I sent a blanket letter out to anyone in power with some practical suggestions about the disgraceful state of our buses. Last Monday, I was called in by the DOTC Assistant Secretary Dante M. Lantin, whom I had never met, to sit down and discuss an effective road map for road safety as part of the UN’s decade of action for road safety worldwide. He is already studying the electronic speed limiters for public buses; so I guess the message is getting across. The irony was that we had to brave floods, high winds, power outages and all sorts of road hazards to get there, but it was a small price to pay when you look at the big picture.

With me was JP and Jeanette Tuason of Tuason Racing School, Seymour Saldavia of Standard Insurance, Arnel Doria from Safe T Ryders and Lifeline Ambulance. Many others, like Charmaine Canillas of Petron, couldn’t make it due to the terrible weather conditions, but the idea was to get all these concerned people with a similar advocacy in a position to do something positive by getting together and coming up with some practical solutions. The Assistant Secretary was extremely open and seemed very sincere, but after spending the best part of two hours throwing ideas around, it seems that we’ll still need your help if we really want things to start moving. 

As I mentioned before, I will try to limit these columns to just one topic a week so that nobody gets overwhelmed. This week, let’s talk about drunk driving, which was the center of our discussion. It’s a serious issue, and the most disturbing part is that, while RA 4136 has a provision regarding drunk driving, there are no implementing rules and regulations, nor a pre-prescribed legal blood alcohol level. So as it is, it’s as toothless as a redneck and as pointless as Vin Diesel’s comb.

So here’s where you come in. Instead of waiting for a bill to be passed into law, which could take about the same time to age a good whiskey, why not create a city ordinance? You could pass that as early as next week without the hassle of going through Congress and the Senate. It’s no different to number coding. And I think we can safely agree that this issue is a lot more dangerous and has a far greater social impact than driving on a Monday with a plate ending in 1 or 2. 

According to Arnel Doria, who is the founder of Safe T Ryders, more than 60 percent of motorcycle accident victims admitted into PGH alone, are drunk. Can you imagine that? 60 percent. And because there is no standard testing, we’re only counting the visibly inebriated ones—I would hate to know what the figure would be like if we included the less obvious, yet still intoxicated ones. And with six million bikes on the roads, we’re talking about a lot of blood on our hands.

We haven’t even touched on the cars, which have the ability to take out a lot more innocent lives in the hands of one irresponsible driver. Remember the recent celebrated cases like in Ayala Alabang or that promising baseball player from La Salle? Those are just the tip of the iceberg as I’m sure the deaths of the less prominent members of society never really make it into the expensive column inches of our dailies. What I’m getting at, sirs and madams, is that we have a very serious problem here. And I need your attention. 

So, how do we fix it? Easy. 

After creating an ordinance, which would already send a powerful and responsible message that will deter a few, we now look at enforcement. Let’s treat it the same way as towing. Strangely enough, many people will feel more confident running a red light on EDSA than they would parking in a towing zone in Salcedo village. Why? Consistent enforcement. Those vultures don’t miss a beat. Now, I do have my issues with them, but let’s not lose focus here; I bring it up because there’s something fundamental about why that ordinance is respected and/or feared and why it is enforced so effectively. Revenue. The most powerful aphrodisiac of all.

So, if you imposed a minimum fine of P10,000 for a first offender, believe me, many people would think twice about taking the risk. Some would still risk it, but in time, just like what we noticed with speeding cars along our new highways, you’ll see a drastic reduction. But how would you catch them, you ask? Funny you mention it because I was thinking the same thing too until I had lunch with a guy from Dräger, which is a century-old German company that specializes in medical and safety technology. 

The guy demonstrated a passive breathalyzer unit that has been on sale locally for several years now. You simply point it at a person, say from one foot away, and it can immediately tell you if that person has alcohol in their system. I’ve included a link to the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bg60aByXB4&feature=plcp to illustrate it, but the idea is that it avoids the confrontations that may arise from people being asked to take a random invasive test. 

Now imagine equipping your enforcers with this technology and setting up various check points around your cities at night. You can randomly stop cars and ask them if they have been drinking, which is something that has been done in countries like Australia for as long as I can remember. Only this time, you don’t require them to blow into the bag unless the passive test has indicated that there is indeed alcohol in the system. 

That’s the only time you require a person to blow into the bag. If a person registers a blood alcohol level of over, say .06, immediately suspend their license and impose a P10,000 fine. Motorcycles could be required to be .02 or less if you want. Up to you, but the important thing is to take the first step. 

I’m sure some of you may be concerned with the impact it may have on local business, but I can guarantee you, it will be less than what coding, towing and smoking rules did. And look, you still survived, right?

Besides, we’re not asking people to stop partying. We’re just asking them to party in the bars and not behind the wheel. Our roads are dangerous enough as it is. There are many alternatives available anyway: they can catch a cab, phone a friend, have a designated driver, call Lifeline’s Driver on Call, walk, run, jog, whatever. Just don’t drink and drive. Ever.

Email me at [email protected].