Rampaging street bullies

A major newspaper reported recently that a “speeding SUV bearing a congressional protocol “8” plate rammed and killed a security guard” for which the LTO chief has ordered an immediate investigation. As everybody knows, plate no. 8 is assigned to members of the House of Representatives as a courtesy protocol plate. As a policy, the same courtesy is extended to the President, Vice-President, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Furthermore, the Department of Transportation and Communications extends the courtesy also to government officials, to police and intelligence agencies, which require clearance from the national intelligence coordinating agencies.

What is happening is that the drivers of vehicles with special plate numbers associate these with power for them to violate the traffic law at the expense of motorists. The public is dismayed of these rampaging vehicles through the streets and highways that have resulted to serious and fatal accidents. Despite the frequency of these violators, the traffic agencies seem to be shamelessly helpless.

Despite the outrage of the motoring public, these “rampaging street bullies” keep on with their illegal activities. The owners, who are in these big and expensive gas-consuming vehicles, tainted dark, are with escorts with blinking lights and blaring sirens to force the motorist to give way even in heavy traffic and the pace is bumper-to-bumper.

Everybody knows that the owners are powerful politicians or a family member or a friend or even an unknown personality and in instances, a wedding or a funeral car. Sadly, this illegal practice is hardly seen in many cities locally and not at all abroad. Those who have traveled and lived abroad are likewise dismayed of their observations.

Years back, there were buses known to the public as “King of the Road” which plied highways, which had caused many fatal accidents. It was widely known that the practice of high speed running through the highways was not condoned by the companies of the buses. Eventually, the fatal accidents had caused a high price financially to the corporations. Just as today, the traffic agencies appeared shamefully powerless.

Today, it seems that the illegal practices of these special vehicles seem to be with the consent of the owners. Thus, despite the LTO’s effort to strictly enforce the traffic laws, they are just not intense for fear of stepping on the powerful and well-connected owners.

With an outraged public, lessons are learned for the traffic agencies to carry on without fear and favor the laws to finally civilize the use of our streets and highways in order to stomp out the abuses of the Rampaging Street Bullies. – JESUS Y. PEREZ JR., M.D., North Greenhills, San Juan City