Hard bites for traffic order
A lesson from my former grammar teachers Mrs. Lolita S. Lapinid, Mrs. Mathea Baguia, the late Mr. Dionisio Soronio and Mrs. Valmoria, mother of INP officer and gentlemen Carmelo, tells me that the word TEXT is, and has always been, a noun to mean “the original words and form of a written or printed work”, among other related meanings.
Modern communication, being a contributor to the growth of any language, has given this word a new dimension in Philippine setting. Text is corrupted as a noun now referring to the person who is sending communications thru the cellular phone, TEXTER or more differently as a verb to TEXT meaning the act of sending a message.
Anyway, someone sent me a text anent my column last Thursday. The texter asked me to write further about my assertion that there are many factors to improve our traffic efficiency, especially in the Talamban area. He texted that he was doing a study on this problem and perhaps, he could compare his notes to my thoughts. I oblige.
One solution of the traffic congestion in our city, particularly the Talamban area at certain times of the day, is something that is not within the power of the local government units. It calls for a national law even if it may be called as class legislation.
There should be some kind of a limit to the number of cars a family possesses. If one goes on a random survey among residential houses in plush subdivisions hereabout, he will find out that in the garage of many such homes are many cars. If he further attempts to validate what is visible to the human eye, he will realize that such families enjoy the comfort of a car for every member of the household. Imagine a couple blessed with five children The father, by himself or with a driver, goes about town in his expensive sedan, the mother drives to office in still another luxury vehicle and each child (of five) jumps into his own car to school. Even the domestic help goes marketing to Carbon in a pickup. And add to the fleet, a family car intended for outing and a utility vehicle, then, all told, this survey shall reveal an average of 8 to 12 cars parked in most garages.
Precisely because the reason of buying such big number of cars is to provide each household member transportation, we expect that these are used. So, instead of one chauffeur-driven car bringing the parents to office and the children to school, we find six or seven running almost simultaneously.
As part of our national discipline, let there be a law to limit ownership of cars per family to, at most, four units. To achieve the purpose of reducing the number of cars possessed per family, those who can have more shall be given time to unload the excess cars and who have the capacity to buy more than four cars shall be disallowed from possessing more than five. In both cases, stiff sanctions are to be imposed upon violators.
This measure may be assailed in court, but I like to believe that police powers, in the context discussed in constitutional law classes as being expansive, such law shall survive all legal tests.
Not quite similar to this idea is the proposal to disallow, with very few exceptions, the use of cars whose life exceeds twelve years. There is a substantial percentage of those running our streets which fall under this category. Thus, when they are banned, they keep open a good portion of our roads which otherwise they may be occupying.
Considering that many of our countrymen possess cars with age in excess of twelve years, the exception that I am thinking of is for a statute for them to keep their units in good running condition upon payment of a higher amount of annual registration. Our land transportation authorities should be tasked to promulgate reasonable rules and measures to implement strictly this exception.
Of course, so much remains to be done. But with a new mandate for both local and national leaders, a new formula may not be difficult to articulate.
- Latest
- Trending
