Traffic: Philippines Vs England

When I went home to England during the summer there was one thing that stood out for me, that was the traffic in Manila. I hadn’t been back for two years and I forgot how there was hardly any traffic there compared to what I have experienced so far in the Philippines.

It was so easy to go around, we would be able to drive straight without stopping, it wasn’t like here in the Philippines where you would be staring at something for at least 20mins while waiting for the traffic to lessen. The traffic is so bad here foreigners become familiar with it, for example we are compared to India who also has heavy traffic. You can be stuck in one place for at least 20mins or longer. Taking public transport makes it even worse, you’re stuck in traffic while being squashed and not being able to feel your legs and bum after the journey.

The traffic here can mean that a 30minute journey from Paranaque to Manila can sometimes take up to 2 hours, how bad is that? I have experienced taking public transport to and fro but I feel sorry for those who use public transport every day, I do not know how they do it. I feel sorry for those who do but I know that some have no choice and that is the way things are here, however things can change. The traffic has become part of the Philippines but it shouldn’t be, it may not be one the most important issue but people have to suffer every day and it is a great pain to many. The heat makes it even worse and to top it off people are made to fill up every inch of the jeep even if your bum is halfway off of the seat the jeepney drivers make sure their vehicle is packed and they are making enough money. I don’t think this is right at all, I mean should it be?

The government recently started their project on the new skyway which will connect the North Luzon Expressway with the South Luzon Expressway. I am currently living in Paranaque, when I first heard this news I immediately thought to myself, “More traffic!” This would create even more traffic and who knows how long it will take to build, especially with all the floods Manila gets it may take years.

           

            Traffic can irritate those who take public transport daily but to top it off, do people not know how heavily pollution is dangerous for us? Every time I would come back to the Philippines the one smell that I used to love here as soon as I stepped out of the airport was the pollution. For some reason when I was still in England the smell of pollution would remind me of the Philippines, it was such a refreshing smell, until I grew up. I finally realized that the smell of pollution was coming from all the cars because of the heavy traffic, this is not healthy. The air is full of carbon dioxide and can damage our earth, but no one seems to care. It is hot enough here to ride a bike, so why don’t most people do it? It can mean you get to places faster and it is healthier but then again with all the street children and robbers it is not always a great idea to ride your own bike.

            

           There are many ways that traffic can be dealt with one of them is to properly educate the drivers. Drivers overtake and cut lanes without indicating; then you have jeeps and fx’s stop in the middle of the road making drivers furious. Drivers should be taught how to use their indicators and drive within the lines of the road and not on the middle of it, three lanes can made into four and people use the second lane to turn right on big roads. Drivers should be taught the rules properly and not only taught but the government should be stricter when it comes to violating the rules. The penalties should be bigger or heavier punishments should be implemented for drivers to become scared. In England penalties are bigger and not only that points are taken off of their licence, they start off with 10 points and every violation a point is deducted, when there are no more points left their licence is taken away. Drivers in England become extra cautious and the majority of them follow the rules on the road. If the police were maybe more stricter drivers would listen, though it will take a while they will be forced to obey them and the roads will be more orderly. One of the reasons that there is so much traffic is because of how disorganized the roads are and how the drivers here just drive the way they wish to.