Trisikad threats

In the last few years there has been an upsurge of trisikads plying barangay roads in Cebu City and nearby areas. Manually operated, these three-wheeled vehicles have become a common sight in these places, mixing it up with other conveyances. How useful are they?

For easy mobility involving short distances these vehicles answer a distinct need, more so for people who dislike using their feet. On sunny days or rainy ones such need becomes urgent and drivers delight in being sought after especially by people who are trying to catch a ride to city centers.

More important, trisikads provide livelihood to thousands of otherwise idle breadwinners. Although on the average, a pedal-pusher makes only P100 a day more or less, after chipping off from P40 to P50 per vehicle for rentals, still the amount can provide survival to a small family. This is the reason why trisikads have proliferated in many thickly populated areas in Cebu or elsewhere.

Unfortunately, despite the swarming presence of these conveyances, there is no evident attempt to control or regulate their operations. Trisikads are public utility vehicles, no question about that. There is therefore an urgent need to protect the people who use these for mobility purposes.

There are many reasons why this should be done. One, to discourage reckless driving, considering the fast that at present anybody sans license can just mount a bike and do his thing. Two, to ensure the use of road-worthy vehicles. Some vehicles have no canopy or have protruding parts that pose a hazard to passengers or have defective brake mechanism. Three, to see to it that only able-bodied people are allowed to operate these carriers. Fourth, to limit their operation to barangay passageways and to prevent them from intruding into major thoroughfares.

Perhaps in other areas, trisikad drivers are required to register along with their units. But in our barangay (Bulacao, Cebu City) no such measures are taken. It's anything goes here. And I've seen women and children manipulating these conveyances. I've seen drunks too wheezing through the road and no questions asked. Worse, I've been bothered at one time by a trisikad with a mounted amplifier turned full-blast. Double parking? Disembarking passengers right at the middle of the road? Cruising on the wrong side? Over-speeding? Operating at night sans safety light? Name it -- many drivers have been guilty of these malpractices.

The presence of trisikads in major road networks has of course contributed to traffic congestion as well as to traffic accidents. For motorists, passing through these areas is a calvary. For example, try taking the Inayawan-Laray route, especially at peak hours, and you will find yourself stalled every now and then because trisikads are crawling like ants there. As you drive one of them could be right in front of you leisurely taking its sweet time. You press your horn to signal a pass, but do you think the pedal-pusher would give way? No siree! He thinks he owns the road, so you crawl behind him until you reach a wider section.

Sometimes a trisikad would suddenly materialize from nowhere and cross your way without warning. Even at 20 kph this is a dangerous stunt. But its driver thinks nothing of it. It's a close call, of course, yet there's nothing you can do but grrrr…!

These problems should have awakened barangay officials to the need for regulatory measures if only to protect the welfare of their constituents. But why have these people been playing the three wise monkeys? One sure guess is that they are afraid of alienating the sentiments of trisikad drivers come election time. Yet this fear is unfounded because with the little explanation all concerned can be made to understand that regulations are designed to protect the interest of both the drivers and the public they serve. By enforcing traffic regulations, for instance, the safety of all - drivers, passengers and pedestrians - is ensured. By limiting trisikad servicing only to barangay residents, competition is trimmed down. And by conducting traffic training among drivers, performance can be improved and the efficiency and effectiveness of barangay transport system are enhanced.

Regulation, regulations - societal life prevails because of regulations. Unless local governments muster enough courage to enforce sanity in barangay roads traffic, trisikads would continue to be a threat to the life and limbs of residents and to the peace and order therein.