It all looked so simple at the start

Members of SPMJ or the Society of Philippine Motoring Journalists are finding out that promoting its advocacy of educating the youth to become safe and responsible road users is actually more than just a full time job.

Producing Teaching Modules for this purpose is not the end but rather only the beginning of what now appears to be a long and winding road to success, that is, if we want to go further than just "lip service" or score "pogi points" as an organization. If we would stop at producing these "lesson plans" and follow the line of least resistance and just merely give them out to schools and then come out with a dozen self-serving "praise releases" to say that our group has done a lot and society has a lot to thank us for — then these Teaching Modules would most probably remain just that — Teaching Modules that would gather dust in the school library, and would only be read if someone curiously picks them up, or worst in the school principal’s files and archives.

If this happens, a whole year’s work of designing and producing the Teaching Modules would have gone to waste. A real pity considering that there’s really a whole lot that the young people can learn from them — from how to properly and safely cross the street, how to safely take public transportation, the school bus or walk to school, how to be a safe biker, how to read traffic signs, road courtesy — the whole works. Inputs vital for our young people on how to safe as soon as we step out of our homes and become pedestrians, commuters or motorists.

Do you know that our children are the most vulnerable of road users and teaching them how to become safe and responsible road users is as important as teaching others in order to increase their chances of survival while on the road?

If we really want to achieve our goal of teaching the young minds on how to become safe and responsible road users, we should go further than just producing the "lesson plans" and making sure they are indeed used, we should also teach those who will use the Teaching Modules how to use them effectively and further measure the effectiveness of the whole process.

So, what’s ahead of us?

We need to come up with schools that would really be interested to set aside time for their students to be taught what’s in the modules and to train those who would teach the students on the effective use of the modules. And when all these are "on stream" we should come up with an effective way to measure the efficiency of the modules and of the entire process.

Well fortunately, as in all endeavors that are worthy and relevant, there will always be benefactors who would want to see such ventures succeed. In this case we are blessed to have attracted the interest of the leaders in the local automotive industry that have seen fit to incorporate this traffic education venture into their own social projects.

If what’s currently being conceived in the drawing boards would see the light of day, these benefactors would be adopting some schools (The whole country has some 41,000 of them) and their students to underwrite the teaching of these modules and the training of those who would teach them. We are also working on some commitments to have support for the "quiz contests" on traffic education that shall be done on the school, regional and national levels (the latter to be televised) with scholarships for the winning students and donation of facilities and sports equipment for the schools of the winning students, for the purpose of measuring the effectiveness of the modules and the entire exercise.

There are such a huge number of schools and students to reach and teach for everyone to have equity in. Seeing this project through should not be the monopoly of those in the automotive industry, the oil industry or those that have something to do with road travel. The success of this project would redound to everybody. It would mean the safety of our children while on the road and a better and more orderly traffic of vehicles and people that would mean increased productivity and a better economy — everybody wins so everybody should contribute to its success.

A call to your corporate citizenship — do you want to adopt some schools?

A more powerful JAZZ plus the return of an institution

Honda Cars Philippines recently launched a more powerful Jazz, with a 1.5 liter engine for those who would like to always have racing-like experience whenever behind the wheel.

What Honda has done is to literally add more spice to an already sprightly engine to a car that has almost infinite maneuverability — making something good a lot better.

But what really produced loud yeah during the launching was the announcement made by Honda’s deputy head for marketing, Arnel Doria that the Honda Media Challenge will make a comeback, and guess on what? You’re right on the Honda Jazz.

The details would still be ironed out but our good friend Arnel-san was willing to go as far as saying that the "time trials" kind of race exclusively for the media shall be done at the Carmona Circuit.

What better way to demonstrate the racing attributes of the Honda Jazz than let the motoring media give it the punishment that it can take right at the racing circuit?

Hooray for Arnel for getting the Honda Media Challenge right back on track!

No wonder the long line

I have just been handed the FORTUNER, Toyota’s newest SUV offering in the international automotive market, for a week’s test drive and I can now understand why people are queuing (and what a long list of reservations) to have it. I received no less than five calls, three of them from people who couldn’t have cared less if I were still alive until the call, just to beg me to intercede to have them placed ahead of the line, considering the perceived close relationship I have with the automobile company involved (sorry, akala nyo lang yon).

Well, I just had it for a few days and I’m still in the middle of the test drive. I hope I can drive it and ride on it on various traffic and road conditions to have a better feel of its reliability, maneuverability comfort and convenience. As a starter, the Toyota Fortuner is indeed roomy inside with a lot of leg room — for driver and as well as front and rear passengers.

I hope to have a better and more detailed appraisal for you the next time.

Pit Lane Notes

The almighty Michael Schumacher has announced that he believes that his chances of winning the recently concluded German Grand Prix were slim to none. Sure enough, he only came in 5th place. This isn’t the Schumi we know — the Schumi we know is fearless, determined, and relentless. But we knew that it was bound to happen — after all, Michael isn’t exactly young, and his reflexes aren’t as good as they were five years ago. I, however, personally thought that he would still be one of the forerunners in this season’s title race. I certainly never would have thought that his lone win more than halfway into the season would be in a race where he had only five competitors.

I am currently confused as to what to blame for Michael’s poor performance this year. Is it age? Has he gone soft? Or is it the team’s fault? Or maybe it could be that the top two teams just have quicker cars? If we put Schumi and Fernando Alonso in identical vehicles, who do you think will win? How about him and Kimi Raikkonen? These are the scenarios I enjoy pondering over while taking my morning coffee.

Things aren’t going well for Ferrari. Not only are they being outraced by Renault and McLaren, but they are also facing the loss of a driver. Rubens Barrichello has been very open about his displeasure over the team’s blatant favoritism. One of the leading candidates of Rubens’ replacement is Jenson Button. I think the young Briton would be fantastic in a Ferrari! Can you imagine how formidable a Schumacher-Button tandem would be?

Maybe Ferrari just needs young blood. Michael and Rubens are practically ancient compared to the young drivers we have right now. Maybe letting go of Barrichello in favor of a younger, fresher driver would be the best move to make at this point. But then we must always remember that it’s always a combination of man and machine. Recently it appears that the machine factor just might be playing a huge part in Ferrari’s performance.

The saga that is Formula One continues.

Motoring Tip of the Week

The concern to buckle up or to put on the seat belt should not be limited to the driver or the passenger seated up front.

The common contention is that the people seated out front are only the most vulnerable when not belted in the event of a crash considering their proximity to the windshield and the greater probability for them to be thrown out. That is a fallacy. The truth is anybody inside the cabin that is not wearing a seatbelt is in greater danger than those that are buckled up.

When a crash occurs the tendency is for anybody and anything that’s not securely fastened to be flung forward crushing anything or anybody in its path. Therefore an unsecured passenger at the back of the cabin poses to be a danger not only to himself or herself but also to those up front in the event of a crash.

So, it’s best to make it a rule to ask everybody riding in your automobile to buckle up aside from yourself.

Happy Motoring!!!

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