gitgitan sa kalye
Traffic jams are a staple in Manila.
Running red lights and swerving are commonplace as well.
Clogged ditches and the ensuing floods are not new either, and since typhoon season is here once again, we'll see more of those in the next few months. I'm not sure how much of Metro Manila was affected, but last night's downpour paralyzed a little part of Diliman: shin-deep flooding in some areas, detours and more detours due to unpassable roads, and anxiety on my part while driving through a couple of such roads since there was no turning back. Worse, the bumper-to-bumper, snail's pace traffic that results from the floods seems to bring out the "incredible hulk" syndrome in each driver, so that "bumper-to-bumper" takes on new meaning: talagang BUMPER TO BUMPER, as in no space in between bumpers. In other words, babanggain ka. Hay. Well, not always, but it happened to me last night at an intersection where concepts like "right of way" and "courtesy" were wiped out from the vocabulary of the incredible hulks on the road during that downpour I mentioned. Ayaw masingitan kasi kaya hayun ang nangyari--the owner jeep's ugly tin bumper made a hardly noticeable but still ugly dent on my parents' magnificent car's rear bumper. After feeling the nudge, I got out, flashed the driver a scowl, surveyed the damage, and all I got from him was a sheepish "Ay." Due to the rains, the location and the rush I was in, I let it go.
I think this is a case of aimless ranting. In other words, mere complaining. But then if anyone out there has any ideas about how to educate drivers about road courtesy, let not this blog go to waste! You're welcome to complain along with me, but I think I've done enough of the ranting already. Optimism more welcome; optimism with possible solutions most welcome!
Oh, the I-me-mine concern here was the driver courtesy thingie, but then the one about the clogged ditches is at the root of the flooding problem. Ideas and suggestions on preventive measures most welcome, too. I long for the day I can enjoy the sight of people flicking candy wrappers not over their shoulders or out car windows, but straight into trash cans.
Running red lights and swerving are commonplace as well.
Clogged ditches and the ensuing floods are not new either, and since typhoon season is here once again, we'll see more of those in the next few months. I'm not sure how much of Metro Manila was affected, but last night's downpour paralyzed a little part of Diliman: shin-deep flooding in some areas, detours and more detours due to unpassable roads, and anxiety on my part while driving through a couple of such roads since there was no turning back. Worse, the bumper-to-bumper, snail's pace traffic that results from the floods seems to bring out the "incredible hulk" syndrome in each driver, so that "bumper-to-bumper" takes on new meaning: talagang BUMPER TO BUMPER, as in no space in between bumpers. In other words, babanggain ka. Hay. Well, not always, but it happened to me last night at an intersection where concepts like "right of way" and "courtesy" were wiped out from the vocabulary of the incredible hulks on the road during that downpour I mentioned. Ayaw masingitan kasi kaya hayun ang nangyari--the owner jeep's ugly tin bumper made a hardly noticeable but still ugly dent on my parents' magnificent car's rear bumper. After feeling the nudge, I got out, flashed the driver a scowl, surveyed the damage, and all I got from him was a sheepish "Ay." Due to the rains, the location and the rush I was in, I let it go.
I think this is a case of aimless ranting. In other words, mere complaining. But then if anyone out there has any ideas about how to educate drivers about road courtesy, let not this blog go to waste! You're welcome to complain along with me, but I think I've done enough of the ranting already. Optimism more welcome; optimism with possible solutions most welcome!
Oh, the I-me-mine concern here was the driver courtesy thingie, but then the one about the clogged ditches is at the root of the flooding problem. Ideas and suggestions on preventive measures most welcome, too. I long for the day I can enjoy the sight of people flicking candy wrappers not over their shoulders or out car windows, but straight into trash cans.
posted by sunnyday at
9:02 AM
5 Comments:
This got me thinking...
I can't remember...
in times like baha and bumper to bumper na traffic...
was there ever a time...
na may MMDA or police...
sa mga outposts or sa kalye...
na nag a aassist sa mga drivers na nababangga o naha harass?
other than the few na nasa gitna
at nagmamando ng traffic...
just thinking, di ko lang maalala....
By
AsianSmiles, at 9:02 AM
Well, pag may banggaan, eventually may dumadating na pulis sa scene pero di ko maramdaman ang assistance eh. Parang lalo pa nga akong na-te-tense. And I guess his job basically is to make a report of the accident.
Pag baha naman, more commonly it's ordinary people like simple folk or and even "street urchins" who provide assistance--either magtutulak ng mga tumirik na sasakyan, maglalagay ng mga tabla para lakaran ng mga tao across flooded streets and the like. Meron pa nga, bibigyan mo ng tip para buhatin ka across knee- or thigh-deep floodwaters. Naalala mo na? Iba talaga ang nakatira sa rich country. =)
By
sunnyday, at 10:17 AM
LOL - hindi ko maalala kasi ala akong nakitang pulis na umasiste sa amin nung tumirik ang FX sa baha :((
saka di ko din maalala na may mga pulis sa outpost kasi nakikita ko lang na pulis palaging naka pose sa motorsiklona feeling eric estrada sila :((
ang hirap ng me amnesia :((
By
AsianSmiles, at 12:14 PM
But I'm really glad to know na you were able to go home safely :)
(Sana linisin na nila ang mga clogged canals para di na bumaha ulit, at mabawasan ang traffic and accidents)
By
AsianSmiles, at 12:16 PM
a fellow chatter told me yesterday that traffic in manila is pure hell...and we dont get to die first and be damned by it..i, for instance have to sit through an hour or more going home from ortigas to san juan..at wala pang baha niyan..in the morning wala pang 15mins nasa work na ako..i take the same route,the same freaking bus line..the only difference is sa bawat intersection at kanto from madison ave to pasadena ay may mmda na nakatayo at di ko maintindihan kung paano magkakatraffic kasi paglagpas mo sa kanila pwede ka magsayaw sa gitna ng kalye,including the mobile and the freaking stage...
anyways, about the dent in your car hehehehe, it reminded me of my bestfriend christine..stuck in traffic somewhere in katipunan or elsewhere in the metro na slanting ang road, may magaling na jeep na nagdecide na aalis na lang rather than wait sa traffic..nagkataon na ang aatrasan nya ay ang bagong biling car ni christine na ni-loan pa nya sa company..i dont know how jeeps can manipulate through spaces or how they can gauge kung tatamaan nila or hindi ang katabi nila, but this driver as in mabilis pa ang pag atras, ayun, from driver side to passenger side lang naman yung gasgas..at nabutas pa yung sa passenger side na door so she had to change the whole door nung pinaayos nya..sad to say she shouldered the expense kasi wala naman syang makuha sa driver kahit na nung dinemanda niya...
anyways, tama kayo..pag may naaksidente nawawala ang mga mmda heeheee
By
Anonymous, at 9:23 PM
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