“What the few devices are currently doing is simply warning of traffic congestion ahead which is not enough”
THAT recent traffic accident at the NLEX Marilao interchange bridge should not happen at all in our freeways.
Considering that motorists are paying good money which by the way keeps on increasing, they certainly deserve a lot better.
But perhaps that incident is another eye opener because what happened further exposed the weaknesses of our freeway system in management standards, engineering, and the kind of drivers we have.
One thing is our freeway system is not yet up to international standards and cannot be compared to freeways in more developed countries like Japan or Germany.
It is still very basic characterized by the lack of more modern and effective electronic warning devices strategically placed along the freeway to make freeway driving safe and convenient.
People may not realize it but the Marilao Interchange Bridge was constructed in 1968 and therefore should have been replaced or at the very least been retrofitted because of the very heavy vehicles that now use the road.
Lack of foresight maybe?
The traffic gridlock that resulted was very poorly managed due in part to the lack of these modern electronic warning systems.
Since two lanes of the southbound lanes were initially used by the northbound vehicles, the formation of two lanes should have started about three kilometers before the problem area and not right before it. And because of lack of discipline among the motorists, the gridlock became worse.
A lot of the people using our freeways unfortunately still do not know how to use the system properly.
This goes for both owner driven vehicles and public utility drivers of buses and trucks. This is where the electronic devices along the freeway can help keep traffic moving efficiently.
Unfortunately, this seems to be a low priority area for our freeway operators. What they are prioritizing is the modernization of their collection system which is now up to international standards.
The Marilao traffic incident is also turning out to be like the flooding that took place at the Tulaoc Bridge in San Simon, Pampanga about a year ago that caused several kilometers of gridlock lasting about two weeks.
Since our freeways are elevated, flooding should not be a problem at all but it is obvious the freeway operator failed to anticipate the problem and, up to this time, not much has been done in the area near the flooded portion.
Will it happen again? We will just have to wait for the coming rainy season to see what happens.
But right now, just a minor traffic situation is enough to bring freeway traffic to a crawl for a couple of hours because it takes time for the freeway traffic personnel to get to the scene to direct traffic the old fashioned way.
It should no longer be this way because there are modern tools that freeway operators can use to make freeway driving more convenient. Unfortunately this is not their primary focus.
What they are doing is modernizing and improving their collection system by using RFIDs which is commendable.
But if only they will include the modernization of their traffic operation centers and also install more state of the art electronic signaling system, freeway driving would be truly safer and convenient for paying motorists.
Currently, it is always the motorist that is at the receiving end of any traffic problem along the freeway.
It is they who will have to navigate their way out of a traffic gridlock caused for instance by a stalled or overturned vehicle because it always takes time for assistance to appear.
Since there are already a few electronic devices installed along the freeway, what management can and should do is expand the capability of these devices so that more information can be provided to the driving public.
The installation should be done right at the entrances of the freeway and other strategic places so that motorists are constantly informed about what is going on throughout the stretch of the freeway.
What the few devices are currently doing is simply warning of traffic congestion ahead which is not enough.
More has to be done by the freeway operators and that is not too much to ask.