Driving in the Philippines

I have spent the holiday season driving...
From QC to Makati.
From Baliuag (Bulacan) to the Fort (Taguig) and back.
From the Fort to QC.
From QC to Makati, to Better Living (Parañaque), to Cabuyao (Laguna), to Laiya, San Juan, Batangas then back to QC.
From QC to the Fort, then to Baliuag and Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija.
From QC to Cabuyao and back.

I passed through the SkyWay, the South Luzon Expressway, the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) Tollway, and the North Luzon Express Way (I haven't been to the new Subic-Clark-Tarlac expressway).

During this driving mania, I have driven three types of vehicles, a Toyota Innova, a Honda Civic and a converted Toyota Hi-Ace (with the wiper and light switches reversed). The first two were manual, the third was automatic. It can be very confusing shifting from manual to automatic.

Driving in the Philippines is no easy feat. I have met a lot of people (foreigners and balikbayans) who are willing and able to drive abroad but not in the Philippines. Actually driving in the Philippines makes Grand Theft Auto boring. In a video game, you can always save and restart your game. You can get cheat codes and practice your maneuver.

In actual driving, game over is really game over. The risks are all too real, a bump or a scratch on a borrowed car is not easy to forgive, a confiscated license (unless you are willing to pay bribe money) is difficult to retrieve, or an accident leading to a loss of limbs or life is never an option. 

One thing for sure, driving in the Philippines is never a dull moment. You have to watch out for potholes, swerving buses that move as if they are little motorcycles, motorcycles that ride a family (dad and mom with children at the front and back) also swerving as if they are buses, jeeps that suddenly stops to drop off or pick up passengers also swerving to overtake another jeep, and tricycles that tries to match the jeepneys ability to swerve. Drivers must be able to calculate and adjust (can I overtake a trike- bus- trike combo? how about a tractor- bus- trike- bus combo?). The vehicle must be able to speed up and slow down in a moment. The driver must also be able to battle lack of sleep, stress, fatigue and pesky backseat drivers (It is always easier to drive when you are at the backseat).

And if you think only a fool is willing to drive in the Philippines, wait until you drive along EDSA. Aside from the dangerous combination of city buses, provincial buses, taxis and fxs, there are yellow lanes, u-turn slots, fly-overs, underpasses and bonus MMDA traffic enforcers (or any of the city traffic enforcers like the yellow boys of Makati) waiting for every chance to get some money. There should be a game on EDSA driving. I know a lot of people who can drive in the provinces but not in Metro Manila.

Here are some tips on how to keep your sanity if you have to drive in the Philippines:
1. Prepare to press your horn (release that anger, bully that bus, blow your horn, honestly, I feel cannot drive a hornless car)
2. Prepare to curse (if those two buses suddenly swerve into your lane and your horn cannot do anything, release that anger, curse. Cursing can actually be therapeutic for drivers. But please stop cursing once you get off your car.)
3. Prepare to get lost. Driving involves skills, memory and a lot of instincts. It is okay to get lost as long as you have enough fuel, you are not late for your appointment, you will not be apprehended for entering a one way street and you are not being nagged by backseat drivers.


Wishing you all a smooth sailing 2009!