DON’T blame traffic on traffic. Rather, blame the politicians sitting on their lofty thrones. They’re the main reason you’ve always been late for work lately—not the traffic on Edsa, South Luzon Expressway or C-5 per se.
Don’t even think of pinning your hopes on the flood control systems that are supposed to ensure that major thoroughfares remain passable to vehicles even during heavy downpours. These should have been funded by the infamous Disbursement Acceleration Program, but after the Janet Lim-Napoles caper, folks at the Department of Public Works and Highways are still scratching their heads, searching for funds.
This writer can list a number of other reasons for the daily gridlocks.
Undisciplined drivers. They ply our roads every day in vehicles of various shapes and sizes—big buses, small tricycles, taxis, jeepneys and even counter-flowing luxury sport-utility vehicle, whose drivers even have the temerity to stick a finger out at you in the early morning rush hour.
Undisciplined pedestrians. Stubborn jaywalkers cross anywhere along busy roads at will, even in major arteries like Edsa. They are willing to risk life and limb, just to could get to the other side of a street. Sometimes, cars hit them. You already know how that turns out.
Big car volume, small road infrastructure. Metro Manila has a total land area of 639,000 square meters with more than 12 inhabitants. Where there are people, there are also cars, and Edsa alone has about 2.34 million vehicles rolling through it daily.
The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. has vowed to make the car industry flourish and it expects 800,000 to 1 million new cars to hit the roads in the next 15 years. The problem is that the road networks will not be able to expand enough to keep up with car sales.
Seemingly unending infrastructure projects. In case you’re wondering if the government is doing something to widen the roads or improve the drainage systems, they are. Unfortunately, it takes them an eternity to finish their projects.
After presenting the major reasons for traffic blues, proposing solutions is the next proper step.
Implement stricter rules in license issuance. This will encourage more educated and worthy drivers on the road.
Strictly enforce traffic rules. This way, all road users would follow them. Subic in Zambales, for one, is a good model to duplicate. There, both drivers and pedestrians are more disciplined.
Develop communities in the south and north of the metropolis. This way, we could lessen the congestion in Metro Manila and traffic would be more dispersed.
Encourage people to commute. This, however, will only be feasible if public transportation is safe and reliable. People don’t take a liking to trains that jump off their tracks.
Meet deadlines in road infrastructure projects. It’s good that we have road improvements happening here and there, such as the Nlex-Slex Connector. The government must make sure to finish them on time, however.
Better government fund disbursement. We don’t want our taxes to line the pockets of corrupt officials. Those funds must be used strictly for honest-to-goodness projects like flood control and traffic congestion. So, the next time you’re stuck in the middle of the road, don’t lay the blame on just anything or anybody. Look for solutions, too. In fact, you might also need to start with yourself. Some problems can be licked by having the right attitude on the road.
Image credits: www.panoramio.com
2 comments
Agree with strict traffic enforcement, perhaps 99% of our traffic enforcers are crooks who would rather pocket traffic fines.
If we have 100 honest traffic enforcers who would truly enforce (ticket all violators caught), imagine this – we can collect 6Million pesos in one month alone. That is a considering 1 apprehension per enforcer per hour with a minimum Ps 250 penalty. We can use the money to improve the infrastructure (better public transportation like trains)!