Driving the family car

I learned to drive in our family car. Like any teenager with testosterone build-up in his body, high octane in his veins and wanderlust under his feet, I wanted to drive a car earlier and faster than the law allows. Luckily, my father had the discipline and the foresight not to indulge my adolescent rages and instead patiently molded me into a driver who abides by traffic laws even without enforcement, as well as a legal mind who’s aware of the rights of all road users. And for that, I’m eternally grateful to my father, Atty. Jaime Dizon, who I affectionately call Papa.

Now retired after serving the Tariff Commission for 45 years and currently enjoying life as a practicing Notary Public, lawyer, tariff and accounting consultant, Papa celebrated his 71st birthday last July 1. For the first time since 1985, we celebrated his birthday with my elder brother Arnel, who’s retiring this month from active duty as Supplies Officer First Class of the US Navy after 20 years of service (including two Persian Gulf War tour-of-duties) and who’s entering the American corporate world by the next quarter. Driving around town with Papa, Mama and Kuya during my brother’s short vacation took me back to 1983, when I first got my driver’s license.

Back then, we had a white 1976 Ford Cortina 2000E four-door sedan with a three-speed automatic transmission. During short trips my brother would relinquish the driver’s seat and allow me to drive our folks and our youngest sister Bambi, around. Papa wouldn’t want anybody talking to me or having the stereo volume cranked up when I took the wheel so I could concentrate on my driving. I wanted to tell him that I could drive while engaging in an animated conversation or even with the stereo at full blast but in hindsight, I realized Papa was teaching me to focus on current tasks, whether it was driving a car or working on a job. I developed the discipline of channeling my concentration through Papa’s strict but subtle on-road mentoring.

Since I was seven, I have been observing how Papa drove and took care of our old family car, a 1952 Chevrolet Deluxe two-door sedan with a two-speed Hydramatic automatic transmission. Recognizing my love for automobiles, he gave me the task of topping the radiator, starting and warming up the Chevy before he drove off to work every morning. When I was eight, he gave me an earful and a stern warning because I drove the car for about three meters without his knowledge. But afterwards, he also lovingly told me to wait until I was of the right age to do the things I wanted to do, teaching me the value of patience.

He sold the Chevy in 1979 because it was getting expensive to maintain and it took him a few months to find another family car because he doesn’t drive a stick-shift and second-hand cars with automatic transmissions were quite few during those times. My brother was hawking his friend’s Ford Escort Brenda with a tweaked 1600cc engine while I was trying, desperately, to make Papa buy my friend’s uncle’s 1977 Mitsubishi Celeste 1600. But since both cars had manual transmissions, only my brother, who was then 19, could drive the car and Papa wouldn’t want that. We could have gotten a brand new car with an automatic, but my father never went for financing deals because his principle was "buy cash and buy only what you can afford". Instead, Papa bought a used ’76 Cortina and taught his two car-crazy sons to be frugal, to spend money wisely and to buy only what is needed.

I remembered each instruction and driving technique Papa taught me every time I was behind the wheel of the Cortina. He was the product of a motoring age when drivers had common courtesy and waved at each other to signal one to pass ahead or to thank the other for letting him pass. Papa patiently ingrained these courteous habits into me and taught me the value of cooperation and interaction even though my generation of drivers would be using heavily-tinted windows that would negate these hand gestures.

Papa would likewise sternly remind me to slow down when I begin to pick up speed. At first, I would be rebelling inside because I thought I was good enough to go faster. I realized the value of this discipline only when I started racing in slalom competitions in the early ‘90s and when I further honed my driving skills during the Honda Media Challenge races and various karting competitions that I later competed in when I became a motoring journalist. I learned that racing in controlled environments, such as race tracks, is safer than speeding on public roads. There is really, as my supportive Mama would quote from the Bible "a time and a place for everything" and speeding on the streets isn’t the right time or place. I also realized that when it comes to driving competitively fast, I still have a lot to learn.

I learned to work on cars myself because Papa also encouraged us to be self-reliant. When my brother joined the Navy in 1985, the maintenance and repair of the family car was placed under my care. I learned to troubleshoot the Cortina effectively that Mama felt secure when I drove for her, believing I could always make the car start whenever it stalls. I liked tinkering with the Cortina so much that during my senior year in college, Papa bought me a used 1977 Volkswagen Brasilia two-door hatchback to tinker with just so I would leave the family car alone.

Papa positively influenced my driving character, as well as my professional and personal character, as fathers are bound to do. Along with Mama, he also instilled other fine qualities and traits in me and my siblings. Hopefully, I could instill the same to my 5-year-old daughter Vette and my unborn son Chevy. (My wife Shawie is due to deliver in late October or early November.) After all, a fruit does not fall far from its tree.

Unfortunately, not all fathers did what my Papa did. In the movie "Karate Kid", Mr. Miyagi (played by Pat Morita) told his ward Daniel Larusso (played by Ralph Macchio) that "there are no bad students — only bad teachers." With the way some of the drivers are driving these days, I can only guess that their fathers or mothers may not have taught them well, or at least rode with them during the time they were first learning how to drive. Or their first mentors were peers who likewise didn’t know the proper driving habits as well as the requisite road courtesy. Or they learned from a driving school that had really bad instructors. Or worse, their parents rode with them but didn’t say anything about their bad driving habits and even condoned their recklessness. In any case, the product of this lack of on-road family supervision is a driver who contributes to the traffic chaos we now experience in most major cities in the Philippines.

It has been established that the family is the basic unit of every society and that it plays a significant role in nation building. With the current political and financial crisis, the family plays a more pressing role to ensure that the future generation remains strong, righteous and true in spite of the demands of the times. I believe it wouldn’t take much for the family patriarch or matriarch to teach their children these values. It could all begin by being a good example while driving the family car. Just like what Papa did.

If you’re a defensive driver and a good example to your kids, email the author at [email protected] or text this column and share your thoughts on how we can influence the future generation more positively.

With all the action happening in the Backseat Driver inbox, I thought it only fair that I answer back some of this week’s comments. — Ed

Dapat ho ba original matrix ang nakalagay sa loob ng jeep, or xerox copy lang? Sana ma-inform ang public through TV or print media. — 09224764191 (I don’t know for sure but the last jeepney I rode had a xerox copy only and it was fine by us passengers, because it did after all explain how much we were actually required to pay.)

I think the "Doctor On Call" placard is being used too much by medical representatives to get away from the UVVRP scheme of the MMDA! — 09212065613 (I think quite a number of fellow members from the media are guilty of the same crime.)

The best way to rid our streets of jaywalkers is to implement the same traffic law of Hong Kong which makes all drivers free of any liability. — 09198063997 (What a sound argument! Way to go!)

Authorities please watch your men manning traffic at the intersection of V. Mapa and R. Magsaysay in Sta. Mesa. Some are kotong cops. — 09062228364 (Ooohhh! Them’s fighting words!)

Traffic enforcers at the intersection of Cubao Aurora Boulevard and EDSA may have a modus operandi. The change of traffic light is too fast and many motorists are caught unaware. — 09189481654 (My, our backseat drivers are in a fighting mood!)

The EDSA Mantrade area continues to cause traffic due to the "taxi lane" which nobody uses anyway. — 09228126668 (That’s old news, brother man, just like cheating in elections…)

Can the MMDA and its traffic enforcers do something new to ease the traffic at the C5-Kalayaan intersection? — 09178917323 (Didn’t they just do something to actually worsen it? I thought all the while that was their aim.)

I don’t know if it’s San Juan or Mandaluyong jurisdiction but can someone fix Pilar Street? — 09178111712 (Calling the concerned authorities…)

Jeepneys should have their doors at the right side instead of at the back to prevent passengers from immediately crossing the street. — 09224853922 (Ha! That’ll be the day!)

There is an illegal tricycle terminal beside the MRT V. Mapa Station which occupies the sidewalk. — 09178506357 (Darn! What is it with the V. Mapa area?)

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