Friday, June 11, 2004
Ok, we haven't had one of these for a while so here's another car catastrophe story. Tonight, I was about to leave church after bible study. So I got in my car and started the engine. I saw that the rear window was fogged up so I turned on the defroster. Maybe I should have waited a little bit longer before I started backing up my car. The next thing I knew, I ended up hitting a dumpster behind me. I'm not sure how hard I hit it, but it was strong enough cause the (apparently empty) dumpster to roll away until a wire fence stopped it in its tracks. Aside from a few scratches, it didn't look like my rear bumper was damaged much. It was still in its original shape. Then again, it's too dark to see much of anything right now.
Anyway, I guess I'm still kinda used to how people drive in the Philippines. Over there the traffic laws are more like traffic guidelines. Two lanes become five, right-of-way belongs to the most aggressive, etc. From what I've heard, it's that way in a lot of other countries around the world. Factor in the fact that on-the-road driving tests are not mandatory for non-professional licenses. You only need to take a written test. Even if you fail the written test, corruption is sadly so blatant and widespread that bribery is a way of life for a lot of people. Some just pay their way to get a driver's license. That leads to a lot of people on the road that shouldn't even be driving in the first place. So all that put together is a recipe for some crazy Filipino driving.
At first, I was surprised that there weren't more accidents. However, there's so much traffic that the accidents are more like glancing hits instead of the multiple vehicle pileups that we see on the freeway over here. One time, though, I was riding in a tricycle on the way back home. (A tricycle is a common form of public transportation in the Philippines. It is essentially a light motorcycle with a sidecar. Hence, a tricycle.) Anyway, all of a sudden, a passenger got off the tricycle in front of us right in the middle of the road. In order to avoid hitting her, our tricycle driver suddenly stopped our vehicle. But then, we were rear ended by the tricycle behind us. It seems the rear tricycle was tailgating a wee bit. Our driver turned around an yelled, "Ano ba?!" meaning "What the [insert whatever word comes to mind here]?!" The guy in the back just smiled sheepishly and shrugged his shoulder. Then we all went on and continued as if nothing happened. No pulling over to the shoulder. No exchanging license and insurance information. Just keep driving. I guess everyone's so used to it that it's not that big of a deal anymore.
Anyway, I guess I'm still kinda used to how people drive in the Philippines. Over there the traffic laws are more like traffic guidelines. Two lanes become five, right-of-way belongs to the most aggressive, etc. From what I've heard, it's that way in a lot of other countries around the world. Factor in the fact that on-the-road driving tests are not mandatory for non-professional licenses. You only need to take a written test. Even if you fail the written test, corruption is sadly so blatant and widespread that bribery is a way of life for a lot of people. Some just pay their way to get a driver's license. That leads to a lot of people on the road that shouldn't even be driving in the first place. So all that put together is a recipe for some crazy Filipino driving.
At first, I was surprised that there weren't more accidents. However, there's so much traffic that the accidents are more like glancing hits instead of the multiple vehicle pileups that we see on the freeway over here. One time, though, I was riding in a tricycle on the way back home. (A tricycle is a common form of public transportation in the Philippines. It is essentially a light motorcycle with a sidecar. Hence, a tricycle.) Anyway, all of a sudden, a passenger got off the tricycle in front of us right in the middle of the road. In order to avoid hitting her, our tricycle driver suddenly stopped our vehicle. But then, we were rear ended by the tricycle behind us. It seems the rear tricycle was tailgating a wee bit. Our driver turned around an yelled, "Ano ba?!" meaning "What the [insert whatever word comes to mind here]?!" The guy in the back just smiled sheepishly and shrugged his shoulder. Then we all went on and continued as if nothing happened. No pulling over to the shoulder. No exchanging license and insurance information. Just keep driving. I guess everyone's so used to it that it's not that big of a deal anymore.
