Saturday, March 10, 2007

KEEPING LANE OPEN-No right turn on red light

I am perpetually in a hurry. I wake up early around 5 in the morning, go to breakfast meetings and hop from one hotel to another to conduct this business.
What is most irritating is when people block your way and even if you blow your horn they pretend that they don't hear it at all. Drivers try to assume spaces to be ahead of the others( one of the negative traits of Pinoys-PANG GUGULANG!)
This is evident in bus drivers stopping in busy highways and jeepneys getting passengers in the middle of the road. Well, we have gotten used to it that we don't mind them at all- lest we die of high blood pressure or worst heart attack. I have even instructed my driver to avoid these highways at certain times of the day.
Now this issue- I will talk about the most common mistake drivers of different levels of education make. KEEPING BUSY INTERSECTIONS OPEN-let's start with turning right.
I am aware of the fact that some intersections need the sign "No right when RED. This is to prevent clogging of small intersections and it works well.It is the same as most countries around the globe.
Now in big highways like EDSA we have signs that says "keep LANE open"or right lane must turn right meaning you wait till you have an opening then you can proceed to turn right. You just have to know the rules of basic decency and not just CUT the cars along EDSA coz they have the right of way and you are just merging.
Let us check the case of Ayala going towards EDSA. One time all ten cars were blowing their horns and the car in front wasn't moving at all. I had to go down and tell the driver off. He said " E boss bawal lumiko pag red". Kung ang sign is YIELD do you understand? "Hindi po" so "Keep lane open" alam mo din?
I couldn't get mad at the driver of the car-he looked like a decent employee of a company and I was shocked that he is not aware of the meaning of the signs. Worse yun kung illiterate na driver ang kaharap mo.When do we educate them?When they kill innocent commuters?
But this is the pits. One time on the same route we were accosted by MMDA blue boys and after much discussion a policeman came and explained to the MMDA's that it is not a violation. Ano? pati traffic enforcers hindi alam meaning nang signs?
When will this country progress?To be continued :)

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