A languid afternoon

Musing on a lazy Thursday afternoon.

I am such a provinciana. I am seated by a kiosk enjoying the scenery. The breeze is cool blowing the coconut leaves right in front of me. Across me from a distance, a young man in shorts is strumming the guitar oblivious to the woman watching him. Oh boy, he is sitting on the balcony railing. It is totally an unsafe condition. He could fall down from the second floor together with his guitar.

Towards my left are male college students creating discordant voices. They finally left. What a relief! 

At the back, the welder is busy doing about his menial task. Oh, two men in white uniform are presently doing an exercise routine presumably as punishment. I am bothered. It seems they won't stop. Finally they did!

Unbelievable! Just as I thought everything was quiet again, two men in white uniform slug it out physically. Haha. Talk about boxing. The school guard intervened. What could have happened if the guard just let them be? I wonder.

Imagine. I am only seated here and yet I witnessed all these. It's the beauty of simply letting time pass you by.

Try it. Even a city lass will enjoy it. 

Chaotic scene

Here’s a chaotic scene. I am wondering if the inundation in the city by single motorcycles that transport passengers to and fro, and the careless and reckless driving these drivers demonstrate on the road are regulated by any means, by the city’s traffic enforcement or the rightful national government agency.

Gee, they are like ants crawling all over the place. They don’t wear helmets; they don’t follow traffic rules; they disregard the proper lanes; they are totally “kings of the road”. What’s wrong with this picture, pray tell?

Will they ever be regulated? Or that is how regulation works in this part of the country? Pathetic.

I drive. I speak from first-hand experience. I know how frustrating they are to drivers who follow rules and drive with basic safety in mind. Why are they all over the city?

Who is going to regulate the lordship of these drivers who think the rest of the human race owes them a living even when they blatantly disregard traffic rules and become a clear and present danger on the road? They exhibit no road sense at all. Who cares huh? All the rest of the city drivers can go hung; curse and cuss, get exasperated whenever these “commercial” or “for hire” single motorcycle drivers overtake illegally; overtake at an unsafe distance; cut an overtaken vehicle; fail to give way to an overtaking vehicle; overtake when left side is not visible or clear; overtake on a crest or grade; overtake at an intersection; fail to give proper turn/stop signals; and cause an obstruction to traffic. You can add to the list. Oh yeah, the rest of the population can go hung. They are the kings of the road after all.

Ah, maybe, this is the sign of progress.

o o 0 o o

And while at single motorcycles that ferry paying passengers, may I reiterate my question as to who will monitor the city’s tricycle drivers who do not – and deliberately at that, honor the students’ discounted fare? Why are the students abused? Because they are timid and don’t want a fight with bully drivers? Something is really wrong with this picture.

To the regulating agency of government or the city government itself, kindly attend to this concern, for the sake of the students. 

Food for thought:

Road sense is the offspring of courtesy and the parent of safety.  -Australian Traffic Rule

The best car safety device is a rear-view mirror with a cop in it.  -Dudley Moore

You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive.  -Author Unknown

Abusive tricycle drivers

Hello All,

I would like to present a community concern.

It's about city tricycle drivers and the exorbitant rates they charge. They are most abusive on students.

Case 1: A student takes a ride together with another student or some other students enroute Gensanville Subdivision. Each one pays P15.00 each (negotiated or pakyaw). When one student is dropped at Phase I, drivers are just silent. But when drivers start maneuvering towards Phase 2, they start complaining that Phase 2 is far away and RENEGOTIATE for additional pay. That really stinks! The poor student - if he/she can stomach the incessant grumbling won't add another centavo but if he/she is pestered by the grumbling driver, he/she has no choice but to add. WHO WILL PROTECT our young students from ABUSIVE tricycle drivers? That's not all. Even when the students NEGOTIATE (pakyaw), the abusive drivers still pick up passengers along the way.

Case 2: Most tricycle drivers do not grant students their discounted fare. They even overcharge. What's wrong with this picture? Who will protect our young students from abusive drivers? Who will monitor the rightful imposition of the student discounted fare?

Case 3: Take the bus. When you disembark at the regular drop sites, the tricycle drivers approach you and charge P40.00. Hello. What's happening here? Who is protecting passengers from abusive tricycle drivers?

I am presenting this to you. How can we help our young students? The commuters?

The system really sucks.

Thank you.