A need to weed out the underserving

Try showing some randomly picked signs from a bunch of vital warning or regulatory traffic signs to, say, five public utility drivers – bus or jeepney, and you’ll have the surprise of your life to find out that many of them, if not all are clueless as to what most of these signs actually mean.

How about markings that you see on the road? How many of these markings do you actually know what they mean? Like the difference between having a solid yellow line from a broken white line painted in the middle of the highway, would you know the difference?

The purpose of having these traffic signs and road markings is to guide motorists and pedestrians on their demeanor while on the road to ensure their safety. And not knowing or understanding them makes the uninformed a prospective victim of a road accident.

My point here is that “traffic safety education” is a must for all drivers, especially for those that drive public utilities on whom the safety of passengers and pedestrians and other motorists rely.

Some quarters have taken up the advocacy to educate. The UPCTS or University of the Philippines Center for Transportation Studies and AAP or Automobile Association of the Philippines together with some corporate partners are conducting seminars for current drivers. SPMJ or the Society of Philippine Motoring Journalists have embarked on this advocacy as early as 3 years ago by conducting free seminars to teachers on how to teach their students about road safety, with SPMJ’s vice president Pinky Colmenares, motoring editor of the Bulletin working hard on its continuity. SOCIO COM or the Social Communications Foundation for Asia, through STV, Sunshine Television, producers of the TV show Motoring Today is set to start it first free seminar/workshop with high school students by the end of this month with a target of 10 schools before the end of the year.

But most of these efforts would really take some time to have its visible results, except perhaps for the seminars to present drivers. But then, though effective, these would be limited to the number of drivers attending the seminar. And how many public utility drivers are there in the country?

My firm belief is that corollary to the previously-mentioned efforts, or perhaps as a “first must do” is to rid our roads of drivers that; a) do not know all the traffic signs and road markings, b) do not know the existing traffic laws and regulations, c) do not know the basics of road courtesy.

But then many would ask, how can this be done?

Simple – the easiest and fastest way to rid our roads of undeserving drivers is to let them all pass a new set of written and practical tests or exams before they can renew their present driver’s license.

This was one of the first planned measures of the previous LTO head Bert Suansing. But he never had the chance to even start it mainly due to the litany of problems of the LTO that needed immediate attention.

We have a new LTO head that was reportedly hand-picked by President Noynoy Aquino himself in the person of Ms. Virgie Torres, a lady who’s no newcomer to the operation of the LTO considering her length of experience in the agency, the last of which was at the LTO Tarlac District Office. And judging from the radio interview that was done with her last week, which I had the chance to listen to, she didn’t sound to me like the person who would shelve a good idea just because it was first thought of by her predecessor.

So, Asec, how about it? It is doable and it is the right thing to do. And the long-time exasperated motoring public thinks it is a must to rid our roads of undeserving drivers.

The ball is in your hands, madame.

More reasons to own a BMW 7?

An exclusive program for new BMW 7 Series customers who have purchased from July 1, 2010 onwards has been creatively conceived by Mr. Bobby Rosales, president of Asian Carmakers Corporation (ACC), exclusive importers of BMW vehicles, Ms. Maricar Parco, vice president for marketing, et al – the BMW 7 Series Privileges Programme Plus.

The friendly and always soft-spoken Bobby was quoted as saying, “ACC is the first in the local motoring industry to introduce a luxurious, lifestyle rewards program for BMW 7 Series customers. With the BMW 7 Series Privileges Programme Plus, we have raised the bar even higher. We hope that the program will bring further delight and many more great memories for our customers.”

Some of the privileges which await members include an exhilarating way to hone your driving skills with the BMW Dynamic Driver Training, the freedom to travel the world with Philippine Airlines, the pleasures of a premium suite with Makati Shangri-La Hotel, the chance for hole-in-ones with Ayala Greenfield Estates, a private catered dinner with French Chef Cyrille Soenen, first priority seating at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, and a leisurely weekend at Anvaya Cove & Nature Club.

The lifestyle experience is further enhanced with the inclusion of a dedicated concierge service especially for members. Dialing one common number (0918-888BMW7) is all it takes to make arrangements of any of the lifestyle privileges with the BMW 7 Series Privileges Programme Plus Concierge service.

The “best sound quality” wins

Judging for the 1st DLS Philippine Open Competition, which was held last week, July 17 at the Tiendesitas Mall in Ortigas Center, Pasig was based on how well an installation package produced music that sounded like the original, without noise or distortion.

To achieve this, a certified international head judge for both EMMA (European Mobile Media Association) and IASCA (International Auto Sound Challenge Association) sound competitions, Mr. Peter Flodqvist was flown in from Sweden.

Focusing purely on Sound Quality (SQ), the competition required participants to set up standard installation package consisting of a JVC KDR-705 head unit paired with DLS amplifier CA-31, speakers RM6.2 and sub-woofer RW10.

The organizers of the event was proud to declare that among car audio enthusiasts, DSL is a highly-regarded brand, consistently placing in the Top 3 for the most car wins in car audio championships not only in Europe but in the rest of the world.

A friendly reminder

Many residents of BF Homes Parañaque realize the importance of speed humps in preventing unnecessary speeding within the subdivision. They also recognize the efforts of the umbrella homeowners’ association in putting up additional speed humps for the safety of both motorists and pedestrians along its main thoroughfare, Aguirre Avenue where a slew of business establishments have sprouted, which have arguably caused land values in the area to rise. However, the concern regarding these speed humps is more on making them more visible.

Running over speed humps can cause severe damage on the suspension system, especially for not so new automobiles, aside from the shock that it can give an unsuspecting driver and passengers. As a rule, or for safety reasons, a requirement, these road humps should be marked distinctly with luminous paint that glows in the dark to make them more visible at night.

Presently there are quite a number of “road shockers” in BF Homes Parañaque due to previously dug portions where water pipes have been laid, which have not been properly resurfaced yet. Add to these unmarked speed humps and you’ll have agitated motorists, most of which are legitimate residents of the area.

The cost of painting these road humps is miniscule compared to the aggregate costs of damaged suspension systems and aggravated residents. Besides, for safety purposes, the rule says they should be clearly, distinctly and visibly marked or painted. Let’s!

No, not this year

If I were to take the letter sent to me by no less than the chairman of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), Mr. Aloysius R. Santos at face value (no reason why I shouldn’t), we would have to wait for next year’s Young Street Smarts Club School Tour before this cash-awash government corporation can help us promote road safety.

But patience is a virtue, especially for advocacies like ours that would have to depend on the kind-heartedness of stakeholders for it to prosper and to continue long after the original proponents have their bones interred.

The Social Communications for Asia and STV, Sunshine Television have approached BCDA for support for its project of conducting free seminars/workshops to students to help make them safe and responsible road users. But considering that undertakings like this would take some time for its board to go through the process of approving it and with the start of the seminar/workshops on June 30, it’ll be physically impossible for BCDA to participate.

However, BCDA Chairman Santos writes and allow me to quote, “Due to time constraints, it is with regret that the BCDA would not be able to join Socio-Com in its noble undertaking. Rest assured, the BCDA backs Socio-Com’s advocacy 100 percent and considers its efforts as very laudable indeed. Should Socio-Com have advocacy programs of similar nature in the future, by all means, do inform us in advance so we can match our time tables. The BCDA looks forward to partner with Socio-Com on future endeavors.”

Through our column I would like to thank the BCDA board lead by its gracious Chairman, Mr. Aloysius R. Santos for recognizing the need for efforts to change the culture of our drivers and pedestrians by molding the young minds of our students to become future safe and responsible road users and for its declaration of support for our advocacy.

We look forward to seeing your promise through as we work for the series of free school seminar/workshops for the 2011 Young Street Smarts Club School Tour. We’ll have our proposal for next year’s endeavor on your desk next week.

Happy Motoring!!!

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