Roadside drug tests

The effort of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to pinpoint drivers of public utility vehicles who are drug users is laudable.

Maybe the implementation is quite crude owing to the fact that the PUVs are stopped on the road and drivers made to take a drug test while the passengers wait.

While there have been complaints about the hassle that passengers had to go through, many have said that it gives them assurance that something is really being done.

What is not a very good sign here is that the drug test that we undergo when we apply for or renew our license seems inaccurate as these drivers managed to avoid being caught.

We haven’t really heard of the figures about those, who don’t get their license for failing the drug test during renewal.

The LTO needs the support of the public in this matter and maybe the office can post a number where the commuters can complain about suspicious movements of a PUV driver, so a team can be sent out to check if that person is a drug user or not.

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A reader complained to us about jeepney drivers that don’t bother about the traffic signs posted at corner M.J. Cuenco Ave. and T. Padilla St.

He said that when he passes this intersection on his way north, oftentimes there are jeepneys that are picking up passengers and the drivers don’t bother to give way to others.

“Usahay, maghuwat pa gyud unya babagan ang dan,” he said. “Wala may CITOM gud diha pirmi, naa pa to, basin daghan pa silag madakpan.”

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Another reader commented on what we wrote about the situation under the flyover just outside the Cebu Business Park.

He said, “pirmi man gyud nang traffic diha. Ambot basin dili moagi diha si Chairman (Sylvan) Jakosalem sa CITOM kay wala man bantayi.”

We have also personally experienced the clogging up of the traffic in this area and we believe that if the CITOM and the barangay would only make sure that somebody mans the area regularly, the problem can be avoided.

They can also help make sure the drivers don’t use the intersection as a terminal to wait for passengers.

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A reader sent us email about a road which has been blocked by the residents somewhere in the Guadalupe area.

The reader is a foreigner and we told him to check with the barangay and also report the matter to CITOM.

We’re checking the place out also to see the real situation.

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For comments, complaints, and suggestions please feel free to contact us at 2531276 or 2538613 local 237.

You can also visit Motorists’ Corner on www.facebook.com or send us email through [email protected].