Reckless drivers must be kept off the roads!

There is something about America that always amazes me. It's the reality that the majority of American drivers (there still is a very small minority that are totally lawless) strictly obey traffic rules as if their lives counted on it. Undoubtedly, the US economy is fueled by a highly mobile population that travels to work in their car. A long time ago in the US, the car did not only symbolize freedom to go anywhere (a motorcycle can do that even better than a car) it is also about making a statement about your status.

Having a nice BMW or Mercedes in the Philippines means you are rich and "can afford". In the US, many Filipino nurses drive a BMW or a Mercedes, something that could never ever happen to a nurse working in the Philippines! But in America, this only means that you have a well-paying job. The really rich people do drive around in a Bentley, Rolls Royce or a Ferrari. I guess the same is true when people in the US buy houses. The bigger they are, the richer people think you are.

America is the land of the free but they're not free to do anything they want to do on the road. On our trip to New Orleans, we saw at least three times a State Trooper with lights flashing stopping vehicles that were overspeeding. The speed limit varies from State to State. In most cases, it's 75 miles-per-hour in the Freeway or Beltway, which is only 120 kilometers-per-hour. Motorists often drive over 80 mph and get away with it. But it's not difficult to push your car to a higher speed. Unless you watch your speedometer carefully, the police would jump behind you and fine you US$400 for overspeeding. This is not to mention that your insurance rates will increase.

When we were in Austin, my BMW buddy Rogie Borromeo was driving within the legal speed limit, but when we got into the intersection, the lights turned yellow. He passed it without incident. We joked about his still being a Filipino driver as a Filipino driver is taught that a yellow light at a signalized intersection means, "Step on the gas and hurry because the lights will soon turn to red!" To the American motorist, a yellow light means, "Slow down bud, that light is about to turn red!"

But to most jeepney and taxi drivers, a yellow light or even a red light at the intersection is meaningless. It is merely a "suggestion" for them to take caution or stop in a red light as another vehicle might be cruising along on the other side of the road. The reason for this stupid Pinoy attitude in driving is simply, he gets away even with murder! In America, passing through a red light is not a simple traffic offense, it is called "reckless endangerment" where when a driver is caught, he is handcuffed and put to jail for endangering the lives of other motorists.

It just makes me wonder if we would ever see a change not only in the attitude of Filipino drivers but also the attitude of the traffic police in fully enforcing our traffic laws? I have driven many times from Cebu City all the way to Santander, a 120-KPH trip. I don't see a single traffic cop stopping reckless drivers, especially those huge buses whose drivers think they are driving a sports car instead of a passenger bus.

Being a big biker, I also learned that in Texas, motorcyclists who hate to use a helmet is allowed, for as long as they get a special permit from the Department of Motor Vehicles. After paying a special fee, a sticker is placed on their plate number and their insurance notified. In Cebu, not wearing a helmet is against a national law enforced by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and a local law enforced by CITOM. But more often than not, you'd see a policeman in full uniform riding a motorcycle sans a helmet, telling all of us that he is above the law!

These are changes that many Filipinos who have come to work and live in America have been used to. Traffic is so orderly, there are no traffic snarls or jammed intersections because everyone gives way to other motorists. In the Philippines, driving a busy road is a "me first" attitude and to hell with everyone else!

We can only hope that someday, we would have a government that truly and strictly regulates and enforces our traffic rules to the maximum. Right now, you can violate any traffic law (mind you, violating traffic rules is a criminal offense!) with impunity. You may get a traffic ticket or citation as many times as you wish.

When I chaired CITOM more than three years ago we published the names of the jeepney drivers who owed the City of Cebu more than P200 thousand in traffic fines. Of course, they couldn't pay the fines anymore, but there should have been a law that removes reckless drivers off our roads to teach them a lesson. Alas, even the Cebu City Council refuses to look into this. No doubt, Filipino society is the most tolerant society. We will never grow into a first world nation until we show some discipline on our streets. If Manila cannot give us this, let's start in Cebu!