Story & photos by Eric Ayrton S. Soriano
DID you know that during Easter Sunday, your chances of being involved in an accident dramatically rises compared to most other Sundays of the year? A number of factors come into play here, including heavy traffic, the sheer volume of vehicles on the road, and even drivers’ physical condition.
Unfortunately for me, I had to learn this harsh lesson firsthand. On Easter Sunday two years ago, family members and I left Baguio City after lunch and headed for Manila onboard a Ford Focus. I was the one behind the wheel. When we got to Rosario, La Union, at mid-afternoon, southbound traffic on MacArthur Highway was already bumper-to-bumper so we decided to pass through San Fabian, Pangasinan. This was a longer route but we knew we would bypass much of the traffic on this route to the then newly opened Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway. As we rounded one blind curve along the La Union, Highway, I spotted an oncoming Toyota Vios heading straight right at us; the driver was overtaking several slower vehicles even though the Vios was approaching the blind curve. I applied the brakes to slow down and give the Vios driver space to go back to his lane. But the Vios was still coming at us, so I braked even harder and eventually had to come to a full stop. Just as the Vios was about to hit us, it managed to squeeze back into its lane, avoiding a head-on collision with us.
I had yet to recover my composure after that close call when, about three seconds later, we heard a loud “Bam!” and we were violently shoved forward. To make a long story short, the Honda Civic behind us swerved to the shoulder on our right to avoid hitting us but the Toyota Land Cruiser behind it didn’t stop in time and ended up hitting both the Civic and the Focus.
Thirty minutes later Rosario police were at the scene and they invited us to file a report at their station. We three drivers knew that the Vios driver was really to blame for our little pile-up so there really wasn’t any finger-pointing. Before giving our statements to the police, the three of us had to go to the nearby government hospital first to undergo a breathalyzer sobriety test. We all passed the test and, after about two hours, we were on our way again. By my estimates, the three vehicles probably incurred a total of at least P150,000 in damages—all because of a reckless overtaking maneuver by the Vios driver.
Here are some things to keep in mind to avoid being involved in a crash this Holy Week:
Avoid the traffic
It will probably take some motorists 10 to 12 hours to make the trip to Baguio from Manila, or vice versa, at the peak of traffic on Holy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, and Easter Sunday. Similar traffic conditions will play out in major thoroughfares throughout Luzon. Traffic leads to crashes in a number of ways. First, the prolonged travel time leads to driver fatigue, which, in turn, is a leading cause of driver errors. Second, as traffic causes drivers to get impatient and irritable, they are more likely to commit reckless driving maneuvers, just like the Vios driver did. The best solution is to head back home early Easter Sunday morning or maybe even on Black Saturday. Last year I left Baguio at about 7 a.m. on Easter Sunday and I was in Quezon City by 11 a.m. No sweat, no stress, no crashes.
Take alternative routes
With Waze and other navigation tools, it is now easier than ever to by-pass traffic and avoid encounters with crazy drivers. Taking the road less traveled makes for a more interesting journey, too!
Get enough sleep
During Holy Week, many of us will probably be staying up late partying or just catching up with friends and family. A sleep-deprived driver has delayed reaction times, slower reflexes and impaired decision-making abilities. If you are the designated driver, get enough sleep for at least two straight nights before going on that long trip to pay off any sleep debt. This will ensure an alert mind, and quick hands and feet.
Look for a way out
About a month ago, a video of a Mitsubishi Adventure en route to Baguio City that crashed head-on with a motorcycle went viral on Facebook. And then just last week, I watched another Facebook video of a truck also overtaking on a curve, nearly hitting a vehicle going in the opposite direction. The bad news is, the number of inept and unsafe drivers on the road is increasing. After that Easter Sunday crash I was involved in, I made a few adjustments to my driving just in case an oncoming vehicle suddenly pops up around the bend. I now approach blind curves at much slower speeds. I move to the right side of my lane. I also check the shoulder to my right and see if it’s safe for me to go there just in case.
Stay in your lane
No matter how bad traffic gets, stay in your lane. There is most likely a bottleneck ahead and creating more lines of cars to get through that bottleneck simply won’t help. Driving on the opposite lane will only clog up the opposite lane, making things worse for everyone. Think of a checkout line at the supermarket: if there is only one cashier, will adding one or two lines of shoppers to go through that same cashier speed things up? ’Nuff said.