On my way to UP, I had to cross a pededtrian lane to get to the jeepney stop. This lane bears white lines perpendicular to the direction the pedestrians take and a solid line parallel to that direction.
With my limited knowledge of traffic signs, I know that straight lines on the road mean that vehicles must remain on their side of the road for the entire length of that line and broken lines mean they can go from one side of the lane to the other cautiously.
Applying this principle in pedestrian lanes, I surmise that the two solid lines on either side of the pedestrian lane means vehicles must stop for pedestrians.
Alas, it does not hold true.
In the pedestrian lane that I and other people take to get to the jeepney stop, it is the pedestrians who must give way to the vehicles. While some drivers do stop to let pedestrians cross, most do not.
Is is because the drivers believe that they have the right of way because they are enclosed in a metal shell running at 20 kilometers an hour and we are not?
Is it because nobody has been seriously convicted of reckless driving resulting to severe physical injuries? In fairness to the authorities, some have. Except that those convicted are the poor careless-drivers-trying-to-making-ends-meet while the rich ones with fancy cars and next-to-nothing-road-safety-seminar-compliance get off the hook.
Or is it because licensing in this country is so easy? To get a license in our poor suffering country, all you got to do is pay up extra to take a written exam using an already-answered-test paper, and drive a car forward and backward.
Lots of new cars flood into this country. We do not only lack roads to accommodate all these vehicles, we also lack drivers who know how to use those roads.
Showing posts with label accident. Show all posts
Showing posts with label accident. Show all posts
Monday, February 11, 2008
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Good samaritan: usiseros strike back
Two nights ago, I got to play the part of a good Samaritan.
I was waiting for a ride home when I suddenly noticed a buri hat (similar to a cowboy's had) fly off a speeding jeepney. The unfortunate owner must have asked to driver to stop in the middle of the street but was not heard or the hat was too precious to him that he jumped off the rear exit of the vehicle without waiting for it to stop.
A body in motion stays in motion, is a law in physics. So when the guy made contact with the pavement, his feet are not the only one that made contact with it but his legs, hips, back, shoulders and probably his head also did. The poor man tumbled on the asphalted road and laid inert. Since I was already in the scene, I moved in to help.
Luckily, an MMDA (Metro Manila Development Authority) enforcer on his way home stopped to assist. I waved the traffic away from the injured man while other came to help. And of at least ten people there, only four of us were really helpful, the rest, there to discuss what had happened.
The homebound enforcer and I tried to assist the victim and checked if he is okay. He did not speak but he was aware of his situation. Another enforcer came along and called the jeepney driver back to bring the guy to a nearby hospital while another man took over the traffic management. All the rest, talking and watching.
In fairness, they may not know what to do at that time but are willing to help. At the least, they created a cordon around the victim that guided traffic out of the way.
Alas, the uzis struck again. Cars and jeeps and buses and motorcycles slowed their pace. It must be to avoid bumping at each other but also to have a look at what's happening. Most may have felt pity at the man and some may have come up with their own versions of what happened and drove off.
About 15 minutes after he fell, the man was loaded on to the jeep he fell from and was rushed to the hospital. Three guys accompanied him including the second enforcer while the rest went our separate ways.
I was waiting for a ride home when I suddenly noticed a buri hat (similar to a cowboy's had) fly off a speeding jeepney. The unfortunate owner must have asked to driver to stop in the middle of the street but was not heard or the hat was too precious to him that he jumped off the rear exit of the vehicle without waiting for it to stop.
A body in motion stays in motion, is a law in physics. So when the guy made contact with the pavement, his feet are not the only one that made contact with it but his legs, hips, back, shoulders and probably his head also did. The poor man tumbled on the asphalted road and laid inert. Since I was already in the scene, I moved in to help.
Luckily, an MMDA (Metro Manila Development Authority) enforcer on his way home stopped to assist. I waved the traffic away from the injured man while other came to help. And of at least ten people there, only four of us were really helpful, the rest, there to discuss what had happened.
The homebound enforcer and I tried to assist the victim and checked if he is okay. He did not speak but he was aware of his situation. Another enforcer came along and called the jeepney driver back to bring the guy to a nearby hospital while another man took over the traffic management. All the rest, talking and watching.
In fairness, they may not know what to do at that time but are willing to help. At the least, they created a cordon around the victim that guided traffic out of the way.
Alas, the uzis struck again. Cars and jeeps and buses and motorcycles slowed their pace. It must be to avoid bumping at each other but also to have a look at what's happening. Most may have felt pity at the man and some may have come up with their own versions of what happened and drove off.
About 15 minutes after he fell, the man was loaded on to the jeep he fell from and was rushed to the hospital. Three guys accompanied him including the second enforcer while the rest went our separate ways.
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