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In more
ways than one, many, if not all, people are pedestrians.
Even regular motorists occasionally find themselves out
of their cars and on the streets with the rest of
humanity—hustling, bustling, dodging and even fighting
to keep their personal space on the sidewalks as they
make their way from place to place.
Simply
put, people from all walks of life are pedestrians, and
yet how many of them truly know their rights as
pedestrians? And the more intriguing question: Who has
more rights on the road, motorists or pedestrians?
One can
easily argue that pedestrian rights should prevail. The
simple fact that motoring requires government licensing
indicates that driving is more a privilege rather than a
right, and such privilege is subject to rules imposed by
the state. Walking about, on the other hand, while
regulated through jaywalking ordinances, is made
available to the public without the need for any
explicit permission from the state.
Moreover, in a more practical sense, pedestrians appear
to require more protection from erring motorists than
motorists from erring pedestrians. For obvious reasons,
the tossup is lopsided —man versus machine, and it is
highly unlikely for a pedestrian to fatally run over a
speeding car.
But,
obviously, both driving and walking require a semblance
of regulation, if only to maintain order on the roads
and walkways, more for the sake of public safety.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like motorists and
pedestrians alike are truly cognizant of their
respective places on the roads in an orderly and
peaceful society. With the way people drive,
particularly in this country, walking is just like
smoking—it’s dangerous to one’s health. Pollution is one
thing, and reckless driving another.
It’s
laudable that the Metropolitan Manila Development
Authority has taken many steps to further pedestrian
rights. And one way was to put pedestrians in their
proper place. Unfortunately, this involved herding them
like cattle through pink fences or swabbing them with
wet rags. One can suppose that extreme conditions
require extreme solutions—albeit temporarily. Likewise
laudable are the steel walkways built over major
thoroughfares. The clearing of sidewalks was also an
important step in the right direction.
But
while there was a strong public campaign to educate the
masses on the proper use of sidewalks, very little
effort was made to teach people their rights as
pedestrians. In fact, at a very early age, children
should be taught how to properly cross streets, and
where. Even motorists should be taught when to recognize
pedestrian right of way, in the same manner that
motorists’ right of way is guided by very simple rules
of thumb.
Everything starts with motorists’ and pedestrians’
proper recognition and respect for pedestrian rights.
But this won’t happen unless the state consciously
undertakes a massive campaign to educate the public on
these rights. A simple street-crossing guide with
pictures and instructions is a good start, and such can
be posted on sidewalks, near pedestrian crossings. The
same can be enlarged into billboards for the education
of motorists.
An ad
campaign would be a costly alternative, but the use of
print, TV and radio ads would go a long way in ensuring
order on the streets. Leaflets and comic books would
likewise be effective, as well as cinema ads. Movements
and walking clubs may even be established to encourage
people to walk more, given rising fuel prices and Metro
Manila’s air pollution. In cities and towns, certain
areas should be designated pedestrians zones and limit
access to them by any motorized vehicle.
It is
only by encouraging a culture of walking that the state
can effectively educate people of their rights as
pedestrians. And perhaps this can also help educate
motorists and the coequal rights of pedestrians to
access roads. In the extreme, one can always impose
capital punishment on motoring violations, and even on
jaywalking. But that’s just as degrading as herding
people like cattle.
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