We were in Bacolod City for a week to be at the 63rd Philippine Airlines Interclub Golf Tournament. We could not help but compare the way their traffic authorities worked with that of ours here.
Traffic at Lacson St., the main thoroughfare, is bad during morning and afternoon peak hours, but the roads are well paved and there are intersections where there were no lights or people to direct the flow of traffic.
One thing that we really had a bad experience there was riding taxi cabs that had defective air conditioning.
The worst that we took was one that did not only have a non-working air conditioner, but also had a backseat that needed to be replaced and caused us severe back pain when we took it for a short trip to the golf course from one of the big malls.
Maybe the land transportation officials can help make sure that dilapidated taxi cabs would not be allowed to operate anymore.
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With the temperatures soaring, we need to make sure that our vehicles can take the heat or we’ll end up with an overheated radiator and cause traffic congestion.
The cheapest way to handle this problem is to do preventive maintenance. Visit your car’s service center or your reputable vehicle repair shop to see if your vehicle’s cooling system is in good shape.
If you wait for a problem before you take your car to the shop, it might cost you so much more especially when you’ll need to have your vehicle towed. There is also the major inconvenience of being baked on the road while waiting for help to arrive.
It might also be helpful to carry some extra water for you and your vehicle when you travel. Drivers need to be properly hydrated to stay awake.
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With the elections just two months away, we are hoping that the new leaders will act on issues affecting the motoring public.
These are the matters on illegal transportation like the motorcycles for hire or habal-habal, the rampant abuse on the use of tents that are put up on the roads, the abuse in the towing of vehicles, and several other matters.
One reader asked us if the traffic situation in Lahug has something to do with politics. He said, “Maybe the CITOM is not doing anything because that is the strong hold of Mary Ann (de los Santos).”
We don’t think that is really the case, it is just CITOM being too lazy to do its job or too scared to do anything to improve the situation.
We believe that one way to improve traffic flow is to remove that small triangle in the intersection of Salinas, Gorordo and Nivel.
It would also help a lot to remove those vendors that have already encroached on the road.
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For your comments, complaints and suggestions please feel free to contact us at 2531276 or 2538613 local 237.
You can also send email to nimrod@mozcom.com.