Buses and Tricycles Don't Make A Good Mix in Metro Manila Traffic

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Traffic jam in Metro Manila on a Sunday? This happened around 11am on October 18, 2009 at E. Rodriguez Avenue, approximate in front of Saint Joseph.

It turned out that a provincial bus was stuck with a tricycle that hit its rear.

Whew! Was it fair for a bus full of passengers to stop in the middle of E. Rodriguez Ave., a major highway in Metro Manila, because the bus driver had to deal with a tricycle driver which hit the rear of his bus?

I have difficulty looking at this situation as reasonable. In fact I found it absurd! Forgive the word. 


Why?


I didn't find the presence of tricycles in E. Rodriguez as reasonable. Were they allowed to ply that route in the first place? Buses and tricycles don't make a safe mix, for the passengers's sake.

So, this was a question of traffic policy.

It was Sunday. I didn't find it reasonable for the tricycle to tailgate the bus. Or why did he hit the rear of the bus in the first place? How difficult was it to halt a tricycle?

So, this was a question of road discipline.

I didn't know if issues like this will continue to persist by the time my six-year old son becomes a father himself. Gosh, can it really take that long for this country to learn anything?

Sorry for my display of pessimism. It's not worth emulating. I stand corrected.

Alright, I pray some policy maker gets to read this blog and do something productive about it.

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