Lakas Kampi Pathetic

Yesterday, my favorite political party, Lakas Kampi, announced their "compact" senatorial line up for the May 2010 national elections. What an impressive (not!) cast. Bong Revilla, Lito Lapid, Ramon Guico, (who???), Secretary (of whaaat???) Silvestre Bello, Health Secretary Francisco Duque, Jesus Arranza (who again???), and last but not the least, Broadcaster Rey Langit, ngek!

Are they nuts? Probably not, just desperate. Talk about scraping the bottom of the barrel. It's difficult to attract politicians to sail on a sinking ship. If I was in their desperate shoes, I would pay candidates to run in my party.........hmmm.......hey, now I get it.

Of these, only Bong Revilla and Lito Lapid have any chance of winning - and not sure at that. So much for qualifications. It will be hard for the administration party to hurl the "no qualifications" argument against the Noynoy camp with this line up, as the only two who have any chance of winning are the least qualified to be senator of the republic in my opinion. The charge will just backfire. This same line of thought applies to the choice of Edu Manzano as vice presidential candidate of the party - no qualifications.

I've been scratching my thick head with these curious choices of candidates. Well more of why would someone like Edu, or Ramon Guico (who?) or even Francisco Duque agree to run in a national election when they know for sure that they don't have an iota of a chance to win. Why oh why laway??? Unless delusion has set in. But I think Edu is smarter or saner than that. I'm sure he knows he will not be able to beat Mar, Loren, or even Willie Revillame, (if he were running), yet there he goes. Why go through the difficulty of enduring a 3 month, gruelling campaign - leaving your work, family, and stopping your life entirely, to chase after something you know will never be yours?

Talent fee?

These Motorcyclists Are Getting Out of Hand

In the last several months, I have seen motorcycle accidents twice. Each case was a collision with a car. I may be biased, but I'm pretty sure the fault in those instances I witnessed was the motorcyclists.

Yes, the motorcyclists are getting out of hand. Ok perhaps there is a good side to it - like motorcycles have become cheaper and more accesible to more, enabling more people to move around. But some control has to be imposed or more and more people will get hurt.

Drive around Metro Manila today and you will experience what it's like. Motorcyclists weaving in and out of lanes, making circles around cars, buzzing by at break neck speed - there is no order to their driving. They are above and beyond conventional driving wisdom. They tailgate, then at the first opportunity, they will attempt to pass you - on either side of your car, sometimes inches between you and the next car.

It baffles me what makes these guys so brave, (or stupid). Don't they realize that with just one slight collision, it is they who will be at the terrible losing end? What match is a motorcycle for a solid moving vehicle? While the car may end up with a scrape, scratch, or a dent; a motorcyclist's injury could range from a scraped knee to a shattered cranium. The annoying thing is that, even if the car driver is not at fault - it shall be he (or she) who will most likely bear the responsibility for footing the medical bills at worst - or at the very least suffer the incovenience of delay or having to fix that dent.

Lately, I've been noticing more and more motorcyclists driving without lights. Now is that crazy or is that stupid? Who in his right mind would speed down EDSA at night without turning on his headlights??? I've pondered this time and again and I've come to one conclusion. Motorcyclists in Manila drive the way they do, not so much because they are stupid or crazy - but mainly because most of them have never driven a car in their lives. They do not know what it is like to be in the drivers seat of a vehicle - what one's field of vision is, where the blind spots are, and the limitation of coverage of the side and rear mirrors.

Motorcyclists seem to assume that the driver of the car can see them at all times. They do not realize that the angle from which they are fast approaching from behind or beside a vehicle is a blind spot and so there lies the potential for the accident. Motorcycle drivers don't know what it's like to be cruising down the street in your car and suddenly you hit the brakes because of a pot hole or a bump that suddenly comes into sight. That sudden brake can be a mini disaster for the eager motorcyclist inches, behind you tailgating your vehicle. And when the fool slams into your car and smashes his face in your rear windshield, guess whose responsibility it will be to take him to the emergency room, get x-rays and a CT scan done, and who knows what else. And after several hours at the hospital (or police station), you need to deal with the repair of your damaged vehicle.

The motorcycle has become more accessible to people with less to spend. It has become the cheaper alternative to a car; the entry level to the world of motoring. More and more people who never drove a vehicle now drive motorcycles - and they think they rule the street. As the numbers of the two wheeled tribe increase, so will the numbers of accidents and deaths.

What to do? The answer is obvious, the LTO needs to be stricter in issuing motorcycle drivers licenses as well as the registration of motorcycles. If instituting a (real not mickey mouse) mandatory drivers test that one cannot bribe his way out of; is a pipe dream, then enforcement of traffic policies that ultimately protect the motorcycle driver himself might help. Motorcycles should traverse roads as if they were a car. This means that they need to "occupy" space in the road just as a car does. They should travel in the middle of the lanes and not on top of the street lines. They should be banned from weaving through vehicles while moving, when they overtake, they need to overtake like a car as well; occupying one whole lane and only on the left side. They should have their headlights on "AT ALL TIMES". In some countries even cars are required to have their lights on at all times - even during the day. This is the way we should have it here, especially for motorcycles.

I believe there already has been some progress in the control and safety of motorcycle drivers. It seems the police and traffic aids are stricter in implementing the no helmet rule. They are pretty strict in apprehending and penalizing motorcyclists without helmets. I see less and less motorcyclists driving without helmets these days.

It's been a while - more than a year since I tapped into the hut. Many days passed with many "that would be good to write about" moments happening. This morning as I drove to work, I was thinking about street lines, signal lights, and railroad barriers. Three anoyances in my current state of mind. Will write on these later.

For now, step one - re-start this engine...check!