EDITORIAL - A privilege being taken for granted

EDITORIAL - A privilege being taken for granted

Accidents involving vehicles are now becoming regular news reports. These days we never seem to run out of people who aren’t supposed to be driving but are.

We see examples of reckless driving almost every day. The latest to hog the headlines is the motorcycle rider who got sandwiched, crushed, and almost killed between a tanker truck and an SUV when he counterflowed and insisted on wedging himself between the two vehicles.

We also have drivers treating the road like their own private raceway, like that driver of a modified race car in Antipolo who lost control while being a speed demon and hit a dump truck and a motorcycle, causing several injuries.

Drunk drivers? Yes, we have many of those too. In fact the latest accident to become the talk of the town here involved a driver who was allegedly intoxicated when he hit a car first, hit a pedestrian second, then finally crashed his own vehicle.

What makes these accidents more tragic is that they were preventable. They wouldn’t have happened if someone hadn’t been drinking, or if they had been driving more safely, or if they had simply obeyed traffic rules, or if they had just used common sense.

Now more than ever, it seems that drivers are taking the privilege of driving for granted.

Yes, driving is a privilege it’s not a right. Not just anyone can drive. Because lives depend on it, being allowed to drive or get a driver’s license should only happen after someone has demonstrated the necessary skills needed to operate a motor vehicle safely and responsibly, as well as learned the rules of the road and traffic laws.

And because it’s a privilege, it can and should be taken away from those who are no longer qualified for that privilege, like those who don’t drive safely, those who disregard traffic rules, or those who consistently put others’ lives at risk.

The fact that a good number of drivers or riders flee the site of an accident because they don’t have a driver’s license is concerning; how are they able to drive without a license in the first place?

Now more than ever, it’s time to screen who should get this privilege and who shouldn’t, and to seriously deal with those who have lost their chance to enjoy this privilege.