Motorcycle ban doesn't solve the problem
Didn't I just say that the month of January isn't over yet, but so many of our friends have gone to the great beyond? This started when radio broadcaster Tony Avila died; followed by Inday Briones Blanco, widow of Dr. Guimo Blanco, then Mrs. Rita Ortiz, wife of former Cebu City Mayor Mar Ortiz also left us. Next to go was Mrs. Clara Cabaero, wife of Mr. Amado Cabaero and mother to our dear friends, Boy & Bobby, Nini, and Chito.
Then we learned that another good friend, Mr. Ribomapil "Dodong" Holganza also passed away. I've known Dodong for a long time not only because he became a barangay captain in Bantayan Island but because he was indeed one of the last true Freedom Fighters who openly fought the conjugal Marcos Dictatorship with the late Inday Nita Daluz and former Rep. Tony Cuenco, and got jailed for doing so. Few people today have the courage of Dodong Holganza to stand up for what is right.
Finally we also learned that another friend, former barangay captain of San Nicolas George Rama also passed away. These are people whom we've known in our youth and have left a void in our hearts. May we request the pious reader to please pray for the repose of their souls.
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If Mayor Michael Rama had his way, he would ban all motorcycles from passing the South Road Properties (SRP) and put a speed limit to all vehicles passing that road. I hope Mayor Mike comes to his senses because if you ask me it is a political suicide to stop motorcycles from using the SRP for we are all taxpayers and have rights to pass that road. This is the problem with our politicians of today. They see a problem and their knee-jerk reaction is to disallow vehicles from using the SRP, and viola…problem solved!
But that's what they think! In my book the problem is not the speed of the vehicles because I can drive my car or motorcycle faster than 100 KPH and still feel safe. The problem lies upon motorists who are not experienced enough to ride their motorcycles on speeds that they are not used to. So even if you ban them from the SRP, those people would still be prone to accidents. In short, Mr. Mayor, you are not solving the problem. You are merely removing this problem from the SRP. But I'd advise Mayor Rama not to commit a political suicide because if you ban motorcyclists from the SRP, they'll get back at you when Election Day comes. So watch it, Mike!
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Still on traffic matters. There is a newly-formed private sector organization that is called "Professionals for Active Citizenship and Transportation that was launched last week during a meeting with newly appointed Cebu City Traffic Operations and Management chairman Vic Caindec whose main objective is to inform motorists about the basic road rules and proper attitude when they are driving. I can only exhort them to strive for success; after all, we need all the help we can get!
The fact that this group wants to educate our motorist is testimony to the reality that today, a great majority of drivers were taught by our driving schools merely to manipulate the controls or the wheels of a vehicle so he or she could drive in the streets of Cebu. This means that the Land Transportation Office has totally failed in educating our drivers before giving them an examination so they could get their new licenses.
PACT came up with a slogan "Give Way ta Bai!" Now if only motorists observed road courtesy and learned to give way to others… there would be no traffic jams in our intersections. But then again, this is due to the LTO's and CITOM's failure for instance to keep the intersection free from vehicles. A case in point is that intersection along Mango Ave. as you exit from the Redemptorist Church. A great majority of our motorists do not care to block the other motorists for as long as they can line up in approaching Mango Ave. even if they are already blocking the entire intersection.
If only CITOM enforced the "No vehicles on the intersections" rule and those that are caught in the middle when the traffic signal turns green are apprehended on a daily basis, then perhaps we have solved half of the problem. The other problem that PACT should focus on is the practice of jeepneys that ply at night without turning their lights on. This has been a perennial problem in Cebu City since I left CITOM in 2005 and somehow no one has solved this problem.
Finally, I suggested to CITOM's Vic Caindec that if he checked all the tractor trailers coming from Mandaue en route to the Port of Cebu, he will find out that perhaps more than half the number of these trailer trucks or container vans has tires that could cause accidents. CITOM should man the gates at the Port of Cebu so they can save countless lives by preventing accidents due to excessive tire wear.
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