Ban on ‘Merry Christmas’

Now that the LTO has imposed the ultimate punishment on Maria Isabel Lopez for trespassing on the ASEAN lane, can we expect them to start revoking the license of reckless bus drivers who actually endanger people’s lives? It recently dawned on me that the full force of the law has to be laid down equally and if a rebellious celebrity gets severely punished for trespassing on the ASEAN lane, shouldn’t the LTO also revoke or cancel the licenses of any and all proven reckless drivers who actually endanger peoples’ lives?

Channel 5 News recently featured two buses “snaking” their way at high speed in Commonwealth Avenue, one of them nearly killing a motorcycle rider. The station called on the LTFRB because when we think buses – we think LTFRB. But why not LTO? No business owner or operator would actively condone such behavior, but every time there is a traffic violation involving a bus, operators are automatically held liable and the LTFRB automatically gets the complaint. But in the case of those drivers, the LTO should have been called in to revoke their license.

The LTO leadership must improve on their game instead of being second fiddle to LTFRB in terms of regulating drivers and second fiddle to the HPG in regulating vehicles with unauthorized accessories such as blinkers and HID lights. As much as I support the LTO, they are overly conservative and SLOW to act on very obvious violations in our streets. After the MMDA reported that fully tinted windshields defeated their car-pooling scheme, the LTO should not wait for an invitation to accost those vehicles.

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On the same day, I heard a news report where an LTO district director in Northern Luzon gave out an order that LTO law enforcement officers are not allowed to greet drivers “Merry Christmas” and that law enforcement operations will be suspended in order to prevent the possibility for LTO agents to extort errant drivers. This is not the first time such orders are given and it is not confined to the LTO. Such an order has been given countless of Christmases past to Customs officers, Immigration agents, and other agencies.

The question is: Is corruption at the LTO, BI, BOC etc., really that bad? I don’t believe that all those agents are corrupt, but listening to their superiors certainly gives the public the impression that the corruption is there and the only thing the officials can do is order a cease and desist order on saying “Merry Christmas.” Can someone explain to me the legal basis for law enforcement agents not to do their job of arresting and penalizing many law breakers just to make sure that no one uses Christmas as an excuse for extortion?

Did it ever occur to their not too bright superiors that a ban on saying “Merry Christmas” will not stop corruption? Sorry folks but when you cover up your incompetence and lack of integrity in the workplace by saying no one is allowed to say “Merry Christmas,” you might as well wear a placard around your neck that reads: “CALL ME STUPID” and on the other side: “CALL ME LAZY.”

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In terms of traffic solutions, the MMDA is certainly organic. Half, if not most of their campaigns are ningas cogon or go up in smoke as fast as a brush fire, and many of their ideas are recycled materials and are worthy of being thrown in the compost bin. Their High Occupancy Vehicle lane was called the Car pool lane in a previous life. Their Motorcycle lane is now on it’s second life, their no contact apprehension is like a monthly period that comes and goes, and the enforcement of the Yellow lane seems to be dependent on how visible the lane is before or after rains. Is this part of their AIDS campaign meaning As If Doing Something?

If the MMDA really wants to have a brighter tomorrow in 2018, what they would need to do is sit down with the DPWH and simply rebuild EDSA, C5 and other vital roads. I’m not talking about looks or road surface alone but rebuilding them so that every vehicle type would have a fixed and dedicated lane for themselves. In the Netherlands, the rightmost lane next to the curb is assigned to bicycles. In smaller streets the bicycle lane is located on the pedestrian walkway. We should convert the rightmost bus lane into a dedicated motorcycle and bicycle lane that is secured by a one meter plus wide step or platform that bus riders can crossover to and stay on while waiting for the bus. By giving and confining motorcycle and bike riders to a safe and isolated lane, the flow of cars and buses would be faster, while motorcycle and bike riders will be a lot safer and cutting deaths to half.

Since “bikers” require lower headroom or clearance, bus riders can be given low footbridges or raised pedestrian crossings to get to the bus platform. The platform should be as high as the first step of going into a bus so it protects bus riders and prevents any other vehicle going into the motorcycle/bicycle lane. The only gaps that will be available for vehicles exiting EDSA / C5 etc., would be at main intersections. This will cause a natural reduction of vehicles that will find the exits few and far between and will opt to take secondary or inner roads.

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In case Chairman Danny Lim has not realized it, the U-turn slots starting from SM North all the way towards the NLEX entry is a primary cause of traffic because drivers have no discipline and his MMDA enforcers are all sitting pretty with their bikes under the MRT tracks. No amount of experimentation will work if your enforcers are lazy and no longer see the importance of their role.

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