Perfect Storms and Traffic

If you are a motorist like me, you are a rare breed of humans who are patient and understanding as regards to the traffic situations around your neighborhoods, cities and elsewhere. In my neck of the woods, motorists exercise polite restraint towards unruly and disrespectful motorists, pedestrians and other creatures on the streets including dogs and cats.

In and around the streets surrounding Manila, motorists are left to protect themselves against unruly drivers and helpless traffic enforcers. Driving around the metropolis is usually a breeze on Sundays and national holidays. Count 52 Sundays and 10 national holidays. On a usual weekday, a five-kilometer drive is peppered with delays that can be resolved if the drivers/motorists and pedestrians work together.

Motorists can use common sense to follow the the stop light at every intersection. Stop Lights in Manila are just suggestions as to when to stop and go. In areas where there are no policemen and traffic enforcers in sight, anything goes. This means that a green light may actually mean that one has to slow down because a jeepney (public utility vehicle or puv) is still waiting for passengers. This happens everyday at the intersection of Rizal Avenue and Recto Avenue under the noses of at least three (3) traffic enforcers and two (2) policemen.

Motorists are not even keen on keeping the intersection open. Even when the stop light shows a green light, motorists should assess the situation and decide to move forward or stop to prevent any obstruction at the intersection. Sometimes the volume of vehicles and pedestrians on a busy street causes slow movement. In other instances potholes or even minor accidents occur. These and other factors impede the usual forward movement of motor vehicles.

Take the case of the streets leading to Divisoria from all points. Quintin Paredes (formerly Rosario Street) Street is a way from Jones Bridge. Following its traffic flow, it goes directly to the historic Binondo Church leading to a plaza/rotunda (Plaza Calderon dela Barca), and to Juan Luna (Divisoria) at the 10 o'clock direction and to Reina Regente at the 2 o'clock direction. This area passing the plaza is the usual bottle neck for all motorists.

There are at least four traffic enforcers and a number of policemen in the area but no one is lifting a finger to untangle the usual traffic gridlock. Whether the occupant/owner of a silver gray Toyota Corona parked the whole day in front of Metrobank J.Luna has anything to do with this apathy is still a mystery. Taxis and other FX cabs are lined-up from Metrobank till McDo waiting for passengers willing to pay a fixed amount. This among other practices in the area are highly irregular. These examples speak of the greed. Without mentioning the inability of the law enforcers to enforce traffic rules, the motorists who obstruct traffic are the ones to blame for their greed and the resulting traffic.

Motorists have to bear all the delays and wasted fuel from all the waiting and idling. Since the law enforcers cannot be relied upon, it leaves us motorists to just curse and hope for a perfect storm to wash away all the traffic jams.