Above the law?

I’m sure many of you have already noticed how many of those in motorbikes have wantonly displayed their contempt for traffic laws and regulations — right under the noses of law enforcers who all seem could not care less.

You see them in intersections sneaking through the red light. You see them snaking in and out of lanes putting in jeopardy their own safety. Neither their bikes nor their bodies are any match for the tons of metal of motor vehicles but their demeanor could cause damage or inconvenience to motorists when they figure in accidents.

What’s also alarming is the number of bikers and their passengers who ride around without helmets. You can see a lot of them especially in subdivisions. There are also those in public streets some coming complete with their family with very young children.

Many of these bikers are what they are — road hazards by themselves, simply because the authorities do not care to stop them.

No, it’s not because they are above the law. The police may probably just find them insignificant to bother with — walang ipakikinabang.

Are we going to wait for a "big one" again to act on this — yung maraming mamamatay?

You Can’t Run — You Can’t Hide!

When one thinks of ants, one can imagine feeling a painful sting. And the "ants" we got to come across recently can really be a nightmare of a sting to criminal elements, especially carnappers.

ANTS, Asian Navigation and Tracking Systems, Inc. has developed products especially made to secure the safety of individuals and vehicles. "GOTCHA" is a vehicle security system that comes with anti-carnapping features and a tracking system. It can track vehicles either through GSM or GPS technology or it can also send a distress signal from a vehicle indicating exact location so help can be sent right away.

When you think of ants you can also be sure that something sweet can be found — that’s when Maria Java comes in to the picture — she’s always available to explain these life-saving products best.

Pit Lane Notes

McLaren has finally announced, much to the relief of all Kimi Raikkonen fans, that the young Finn will be Juan Pablo Montoya’s partner in 2005. David Coulthard fans need not worry though, because with his experience and winning ways, there will surely be a lot of other teams who will be interested in availing of his talent. Team McLaren has been sending warning signals to Ferrari for them to abstain from offering a contract to Kimi when his contract expires at the end of next season. This early, they are already projecting the Raikkonen-Montoya partnership as one that could be compared to the Prost-Senna pairing. Now that’s what I call counting your chickens before they hatch.

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The "Bad Boy" of Formula 1 is continuing his wild streak away from the track — and far away from the microphone where he has made most of his damage. Eddie Irvine has been charged with speeding, and a warrant is out for his arrest after he failed to appear at his scheduled court hearing. Apparently, he has quite a number of residences scattered all around the world and the UK police have found it very difficult to contact him. The Bad Boy lives on.

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Gianmaria Bruni, a 22-year old Roman, will be driving for Minardi in 2004. The team has very high hopes for the youngster, and is very confident that he will be the next rising star in Formula 1. They expect him to follow in the footsteps of successful ex-Minardi drivers Fernando Alonso, Justin Wilson, and Mark Webber among others. The Riviera It Is

I was with Signore Popong Andolong and his very charming wife Tet for an early morning trip last Saturday to Dasmarinas, Cavite for an ocular inspection of the very challenging and picturesque Riviera Golf and Country Club and its facilities in preparation for the holding of the 1st SPMJ Golf Cup Invitational.

No less than the Club’s hands-on president and acting general manager, retired Commodore Danny Pizarro, taking time out in between swings in an on-going tournament that day, made sure we were able to take a good look and stack at what we would need to make sure this tournament, which is scheduled February of next year, actually barely two months from now, would be a "golf-swinging" success.

As I have mentioned in this column previously, this is a fund-raising project of SPMJ, Society of Philippine Motoring Journalists, to finance a multi-staged venture geared towards traffic education for the youth of our country.

As it is, judging from the very warm reception of the entire automotive industry, which we see as willing partners in this noble endeavor, we see not much difficulty in achieving the first stage of the project — the preparation and production of teaching modules and AVPs or audio-visual presentations geared toward the elementary and high school students. The members of the society also intend to do the "teach-in" themselves, which would start with public schools, where most of the future public utility and professional drivers emanate.

Leading firms from the automotive industry and its peripheral sectors (oil, tire, etc.) together with other corporate entities that would realize their stake in the venture’s goals and aims are being tapped to become "presenting" and "cooperating" sponsors of the tournament to include the 18 holes of the Riviera, while fielding their teams to participate together with the editors and journalists of leading publications and media networks for a day of friendly and fun-filled golf competition.

The SPMJ members also are making sure that the sponsors, aside from having fun playing golf in the tournament, would also have more than the corresponding media values for their sponsorship by way of a special TV show that would feature the highlights of the tournament — over and above their demonstration of responsible corporate citizenship by being involved in such a socially-relevant venture.

I shall update you on how this first endeavor of SPMJ as it shapes up in our future columns.

Motoring Tip Of The Week

Let’s bear in mind that the price of a tire, even to include that of a rim or a mag wheel, cannot compare to the value of your vehicle, much more your own life.

A new modus operandi of criminal elements preying on motorists is to flatten one of your tires while your vehicle is parked. If you do not happen to notice this when you drive off, they will trail you and wait for the opportune time or place to tell you that you have a flat tire and pounce on you the moment you leave your vehicle to check on your tires or attempt to change the flat one.

If you find yourself in this situation, the better and safer reaction is to run your tire flat up to the nearest service station where you feel that it would be safe for you to change tires. If you can’t find one, try to call someone who can meet you along the way to help you or just drive straight to your home where it could be safest.

Believe me, in a rally I joined together with Tammy Mendoza of The Philippine Star as my navigator, which run through the very challenging Subic Naval Mag, I drove running flat, for what I felt was a thousand kilometers (feeling lang probably due to our earnestness), just to finish the rally. The tire was almost in shreds but I was still running till the finish line.

So, just stay inside your vehicle and don’t give a hoot about running flat — it’s only a tire.

Happy Motoring!!!

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