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THE
Christmas rush is still on and parties are everywhere,
left and right.
This is
the time of the year when the streets are full of
drunken drivers whom the authorities seemingly allow to
go around unhindered. Although it is dangerous to drink
and drive, Filipinos appear to be good at it.
How many
times have we been reminded not to drink and drive?
Nobody bothers to listen until accidents involving known
personalities happen. When you attend a party where you
drink up to the wee hours of the morning, you must have
a designated driver—one who has refrained from
drinking—to take you home. Yes, that’s the cardinal rule
but is it being followed? Naaah…
The
authorities’ lack of proper equipment to detect
intoxicated or drunk drivers on the road embolden many
of our motorists to drink and drive. Must we wait for a
significant rise in the number of accidents involving
drunk drivers before we take action?
MY
sister, Nilda, told me about the harrowing experience of
a rich parent who gifted his only son with a brand-new
car on his last birthday.
Little
did they know it, but that car would be the cause of his
death. The said teenager went with his friend to a party
where he downed several bottles of liquor before calling
it a night. He never made it back home. He met a fatal
accident that night and the parent only learned about it
the next day.
There
are so many cases of fatal accidents in the United
States involving teen drivers. In the Philippines, many
are alarmed by the way teenagers drive like crazy
especially at midnight when the traffic is light.
In the
abovementioned incident, we can safely say that many
teenagers who have their own cars simply because their
parents are rich enough to afford one have a tendency to
develop a “superman” attitude. Because they are young
and full of pep, these dudes tend to follow their idols
in the world rally championship, Nascar and F1
racetracks. That’s bad and very dangerous!
You
cannot blame them. With no proper training and their
failure to attend driving clinics, they simply see the
open roads as a big racetrack at night when there is no
traffic. You can see them thundering and whizzing by
aboard their souped-up cars at unholy hours.
I think
parents have the responsibility of giving their
teenagers advice as well as providing them with the
proper driving education before giving them their own
cars. Cars can be changed or fixed when they crash or
are damaged in an accident, but the lives of teenagers
cannot be brought back if they die.
Attending driving clinics is a very good idea especially
when the driver is a first-timer. Driving needs to be
continuously learned from experts who can be found in
advanced driving schools or driving clinics. Teenage
drivers who go through driving schools and driving
clinics will surely become responsible drivers.
So,
remember, before you allow your teenager to drive his
first car, bring him first to a driving school and,
afterward, enroll him in advanced driver training.
That’s basic and simple.
WITH the
high cost of gasoline and cars these days, many are
really turning to motorcycles, which are many times
cheaper.
But
being cheap doesn’t necessarily mean safe if you glance
at the statistics of accidents involving motorcycle
riders. Yes, they happen everywhere. And, yes, there is
an ongoing drive by authorities to stop motorcycle
riders without helmets. But with the hundred of
thousands of motorcycles plying the streets and a small
number of apprehending officers, I doubt if they can
sustain that drive.
There’s
a recent news story regarding Vietnam’s strict rule
requiring motorcycle riders to wear crash helmets in
order “to reduce the unacceptably high road traffic
toll.”
Vietnam,
a nation of millions of noisy motorbikes, is already
alarmed by the 13,000 people killed and more than 11,000
injured in traffic accidents, half of them are brain
injuries.
Vietnam,
an overwhelmingly bicycle-pedaling society just 15 years
ago, has motorized faster than many countries. There
were fewer than 500,000 motorbikes in 1990 but now there
are more than 22 million, increasing at 20 percent a
year in this country of 85 million. Though many
Vietnamese can afford cars these days, small motorbikes
are the cheaper, preferred mode of transportation. The
streets and roads of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are
choking on the success of an economy growing at more
than 8 percent a year while infrastructure lags far
behind. Motorbikes, often seen carrying entire families
of four or overloaded with produce and poultry, have
also come to symbolize individual independence in an
authoritarian state.
Now that
it is mandatory to wear helmets (which are described as
“rice cookers on their heads”) while riding a bike, many
riders are doing so on their own initiative after
learning the dangers of motorcycle-riding and the
increase in traffic accidents.
PEACE
and prosperity to those who have shared with us their
blessings! We would like to thank the following: Felix
Mabilog and the whole Kia Family; Chut Velasquez; Isuzu
Philippines Corp. officials; Honda Car Philippines Inc.
officials; Dr. and Mrs. Rolando Deduyo; Wellington Soong
of the Jaguar and Land Rover Family; Hyundai Asia
Rersources Inc. officials; Sophie de los Santos of
Tradeshow International; karter Alesandra Sophia
Madrigal; PGA Cars’ Robert Coyiuto; Mr. and Mrs. Jowett
Golangco; Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. officials;
and Volvo Cars officers. Merry Christmas to one and all! |
