EDITORIAL — When a pastime poses danger

It has happened twice on the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX); a motorcycle rider snagging on a thin, almost invisible string, stretched taut across the highway.

In one incident that happened last April 19, motorcycle rider Jesie Cañete said he had just reached the end of the bridge leading to Cebu City when he felt a burning sensation around his neck. It was only later when he realized he had driven straight into a kite string.

Such an incident happening twice was enough to make some people think that something sinister was up; and that someone was deliberately stretching a string across the highway to purposely hurt or even decapitate some motorcycle riders.

However, the truth was more mundane. It turned out they were just strings from kites that had snapped and drifted to the CCLEX.

People who fly kites should be more careful, because their kites can pose risks, and not just to riders along the CCLEX but also to our power infrastructure.

As every kid who has played with a kite knows, the possibility of a kite’s line snapping is always possible. This can happen because of high winds. But this can also happen when flyers engage in “fights” with their kites, where they glue ground pieces of glass to their string for an added “advantage”.

When this happens, there’s no telling where that drifting kite and that length of string will go.

Too many times they have tangled on power lines and caused problems, so much so that kites in power lines are often reported to the Visayan Electric.

We aren’t discouraging people from flying kites. It’s a pastime that actually encourages them, especially the kids, to go outside, be active, and play with other kids, so it’s a good activity. More so in the summer months when thermals --hot air rising from the ground-- give kites even more lift.

However, we do encourage responsible kite flying. Flyers must always keep away from high-risk areas like busy highways and where there are power lines.