OpinionsThe Way It IsEscapable checkpoint

Escapable checkpoint

-

- Advertisment -spot_img

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA — Lately, I have read in the local newspapers about the issue of registered motorcycles versus licensed drivers in Dumaguete City. The numbers are: 42,159 registered motorcycles; 28,546 licensed drivers.

I could look at this as every licensed driver owning 1.47 motorcycles. But that would be if I were naí¯ve. So, I would take it as people not bothering to apply for licenses for only one reason–the authorities do not have the will or way to enforce the law to its fullest extent, resulting in the absence of a deterrent for drivers to operate vehicles without the legal privilege to do so.

If one is able to drive without a license, and no one notices, why would he bother to register or buy extra insurance? Can you begin to see the possible consequences of this?

Four months ago, as I was going southbound on the national highway along E.J. Blanco Drive, I drove past a checkpoint that was set up by the PNP. Some distance before it, in both directions, there were motorcycles parked haphazardly, with more motorcycles abruptly stopping, joining the rest that were already stopped. I knew what this was all about. These were riders who didn’t have licenses or OR/CR’s.

Forty to 50 meters before the checkpoint was a safe zone, and they all knew it. The violators were there in full view of the officers but could not be touched. The only ones who were not afraid to go through the checkpoint were those whose documents were in order.

I have always wondered about that, so I stopped and parked past the checkpoint so I could talk to the team leader of the PNP officers manning the checkpoint and get answers to my questions. I greeted him nicely but did not waste time to ask him why they do not go after those who stopped before the checkpoint since it was so obvious that they were afraid to be caught.

He said that their authority is “limited to the immediate vicinity of the checkpoint”. I did not bother to ask how far the checkpoint’s boundaries extended, but it seemed to me that those drivers were too close as to render the whole idea of a checkpoint inutile.

I could not help but notice certain things with the officers manning the checkpoint. It seemed to me like they were ill-prepared for the operation. First and very important observation is that they did not have adequate lighting at the spots where they stopped the vehicles. When a driver handed them their documents, they would leave in search of a ray of light, any ray of light, even from the headlights of nearby moving vehicles, just to be able to see and inspect the documents, leaving the stopped driver alone. The stopped driver could easily pull out a weapon, and the police officer wouldn’t see it at all.

At that moment, I thought it a laudable idea to donate head lights to the local PNP, for use at checkpoints.

Second, they did not have mobile units on standby to chase those who may run the gauntlet, so to say. The team leader’s response was that they simply did not have such units.

Third, the checkpoint was in a location that was easy to evade. There are ways to set a better trap if they really wanted to catch erring drivers, but it would need some planning.

Fourth, they did not have a means to transport all the motorcycles that they confiscated that evening. As I was told, some will have to be left at the site until the next day, leaving them subject to theft.

A checkpoint than can be evaded is not a checkpoint at all, so I wish they would stop calling it that. I would call what I saw a ‘verification area’, where the main purpose was to check the driver’s documents, and tell them they were in order. It wasn’t purposefully set up to catch and penalize violators of the vehicle code.

As I have said in a previous article, even drivers who look suspiciously like 12-year-olds can get away with driving anything in the City of Gentle People. No police officer or traffic enforcer will notice it, let alone do something about it, even if they did.

So, it isn’t surprising at all that only two-thirds or more of all the motorcycles in the City are driven by licensed drivers. At any given time, the other third or around 14,000 motorcycles are being driven in the City by unlicensed drivers.

Just pray you don’t get hit by one of them because you’ll never be able to catch them (unless they’re incapacitated on the spot). Most hit-and-run accidents happen because a driver is not licensed to drive, and are deathly-afraid of the legal and financial consequences, so they run.

For my part, if I should encounter one of them, I hate to think that I probably would have to take matters into my own hands to protect my investment, and to set things straight because apparently, the authorities can’t or won’t.

In the absence of long-term, visionary solutions to its traffic crisis, the local government should at least try catching unlicensed drivers and unregistered vehicles. It is a start.

This simple, uncomplicated, and politically-safe action might reduce the number of vehicles jamming the streets of the City, as well as give the law-abiding drivers some comfort against the hope that it may eliminate hit-and-run accidents.

I know all too well about splitting lanes, being a biker here in California, but what I know about it is splitting where you would be driving otherwise.

But these motorcycle riders in Dumaguete are a different breed. They will pass you on the right, squeezing themselves into impossible gaps, always flirting with danger, unnecessarily, consequences be damned. No one is watching them. Meanwhile, those of us who follow traffic laws can turn blue complaining about them with nary a whisper from the authorities in reply.

It is often said that being aware of the problem is 50 percent of the solution. This brings comfort to most people, but not those running our City. They are aware of the problem but have so far only come up with short-term, opportunistic solutions. They talk about a plan when asked. Then they talk about the plan when asked again. When asked some more, they talk about the plan again.

Implementation? What is that? Then it’s back to the plan again, when asked about what happened to the first plan. Years could go by with no meaningful solution.

In fact, years have already gone by. And where are we now? Still, where we were when we first asked the question, although those who first talked about the plan have been relieved by newer but no-better officials. Nevertheless, the talk is still about the plan.

We can only hope that the way it is now does not present any hardships for us somewhere in the future.

_____________________________

Author’s email: [email protected]

br />

(Back to MetroPost HOME PAGE)


 

 

Latest news

City budget is dead  — Dgte Council

    Perdices resigns as Finance Committee chair “The Motion raised by Councilor Baldado for the approval of the 2025 annual...

Comelec to put LGUs  in ‘yellow’ alert

    Majority of the cities and municipalities in Negros Oriental are likely to be placed under ‘yellow’ category for the...

Who wins?

    The City Council’s Friday special session was meant to be about one matter: approving the 2025 annual budget of...

Canlaon completes P12M infra

    despite eruption The local government of Canlaon City turned over this week more than P12 million worth of infrastructure projects...
- Advertisement -spot_imgspot_img

Coop budgets P9M for CSR

    The Perpetual Help Community Cooperative, Inc. has lined up projects this year for its community development program in Negros...

PNP augments force for May polls

    The first batch of augmentation force from the Philippine National Police that will assist in disaster response, and perform...

Must read

City budget is dead  — Dgte Council

    Perdices resigns as Finance Committee chair “The Motion raised by...

Comelec to put LGUs  in ‘yellow’ alert

    Majority of the cities and municipalities in Negros Oriental...
- Advertisement -spot_imgspot_img

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you