The Metro Manila Development Authority implemented on Monday the strict motorcycle lane on Edsa and other main roads like C5, Commonwealth and Macapagal Avenues. As expected, the Motorcyclists Association of the Philippines protested the MMDA move as discriminatory and selective enforcement of traffic laws. Motorcyclists complained the MMDA regulation as unfair to the sector of society who cannot afford to buy a car, adding the tight one lane allotted to them would only add to the traffic congestion on major roads.
Oh, really? But aren’t there alternate roads for them to take when traffic on Edsa gets tight? These alternate side streets are impassable to bigger vehicles but not motorcycles to use. Some neighborhoods have usurped them as basketball courts, street markets and garbage dumps. Basically, this is a problem of law enforcement by the local governments, which in this case is the responsibility of the local police and barangay officials.
If one looks at the problem more closely, the metropolis monster traffic is traceable to the fact that we do not have an efficient public transport system. This is the reason why middle-class families buy cars to get to work. The city’s two railway lines—Metro Rail Transit and the Light Rail Transit—have been allowed by government officials to deteriorate and rot. It’s a wonder we haven’t had a real train disaster resulting in a number of casualties. So far, all we had are the daily breakdowns of both MRT and LRT, making commuters learn to live with government incompetence and corruption. It will be recalled the MRT maintenance service contract was awarded to an undercapitalized company that had no track record in train service maintenance. Its only qualification? The little-known company was owned by a relative of then-MRT general manager Al Vitangcol who is now facing charges for graft. But his boss, former DoTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, has yet to be charged. For sure, he knew what Vitangcol and the MRT bids and awards committee were doing.
Motorcyclists claim that the two-day notice and information on the motorcycle lane was not long enough. It does not need a long and exhaustive information campaign for motorcyclists to know the basic rules of the road. These two-wheel vehicles use the road in a helter-skelter manner like they own it. I have been a victim of a near-crash with a motorcyclist; this is why I feel strongly about their unregulated presence on the road.
A year ago, while I was driving up the ramp on Buendia going to Edsa, I nearly hit a motorcyclist who cut in front of me. It was a unnerving experience. Apparently the jerk missed the signage indicating Cubao and he had taken the lane going to Bonifacio Global City. In attempting to get back on track he swerved from the left almost slamming into my car. The near-fatal accident made my blood pressure shoot up to 206. This I found out when I arrived at my destination at the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel. Feeling nauseous and tight in the chest I was taken by friends to the hotel clinic.
There, the nurse and a doctor tried to bring down my BP. When they could not, they suggested I be taken to a hospital. When I said OK my doctor is at the Makati Medical Hospital. They shook their heads and told me “Sir, traffic is still heavy on Edsa, you might not make it.” This, of course, dismissed any alternative hospital venue. I was taken by ambulance to the nearby Medical City in Ortigas emergency room and later confined as an in-patient for three days.
Now, you know why I feel visceral about motorcyclists running around unregulated. My peripheral vision and reflexes are still OK according to the doctor who examined me. But he advised I stop driving because of the perils posed by others on the road.
The morning and evening news on TV carry reports of almost-daily road accidents involving motorcycles and other vehicles. As the motorcycles are smaller, their drivers are usually the fatalities. With the designated lane, motorcyclists can no longer slither in and out of traffic to put themselves and other motorists in danger. This road regulation is an idea that would save motorcyclists from themselves.
There are other regulations I would suggest to the MMDA to make motorcyclists accountable. Because their license plates are so small (unlike the regular vehicles), the numbers are hard to read. How about imposing that their license plate be emblazoned at the back of their chaleco or vest so victims and witness can identify the drivers who often figure in hit-and-run incidents? Their tinted helmets which cover their faces serve as masks especially when they commit even more serious crimes like robbery or riding in tandem ambush killings.