Recently I found myself staring at the glaring red light at the Bantayan crossing of Hibard Avenue and Rovira Drive, en route to Flores Avenue. It was a hot and tiring day from work, and all we wanted was to find a place to eat to cap the day.
The sight made me recall a Facebook post made by photographer Denniz Futalan showing a white pick up truck speeding forward despite a red light. The post, which has now garnered 192,000 views and 278 shares as of this writing, made waves especially in the local social media scene.
Having traffic lights in the City is fairly new – some may not be as used to following the rules yet. With bated breath, we waited for the lights to turn green. Luckily, the other vehicles present were patient enough to wait for their turn, and we breezed by, albeit carefully, as we hoped other vehicles won’t attempt the daring act of ignoring a red light.
It’s funny how something, such as traffic lights, only ever started to appear in Dumaguete, yet people are still privy to the fact there are no strict legal ramifications of violating the three colors of the lights.
Turns out, despite the videos going around of drivers breaking the law, there doesn’t seem to be a proper enactment of the rules in using traffic lights. Unless there would be serious accidents (God forbid), this matter of people not obeying the red or green light would persist.
I understand that perhaps the installation of these lights is still a work in progress just to see how much these lights can influence the drivers in the City.
That’s one way for us to finally grow – when we start following rules. Sadly, it seems as though the irresponsible drivers in our City are a dime a dozen.
When I started learning how to drive, admittedly, I also started to pay closer attention to people who do not follow simple traffic and road rules. The term kamote driver comes to mind. Though I am not proud to admit this, Dumaguete has more than its fair share of these these kamote drivers.
Despite the attempts in adding traffic aids with the most traffic congestion, I have noticed some drivers who still try to sneak past them, maybe knowing they would not suffer any grave consequence.
In addition, many drivers seem to enjoy the privilege of stopping in the middle of the road to pick up or drop off passengers, knowing full well that here in the City, the vehicles behind them would simply stop and wait.
Some even take for granted using their signal lights, then make abrupt left turns, causing near-collisions. Others weave around the labyrinth of vehicles in these congested streets just narrowly-hitting people who attempt to cross the street – ignoring pedestrian lanes.
In a growing City with narrow and busy streets like Dumaguete, accidents seem to be just right around the corner.
The number of people who hesitate crossing the street, or those who attempt to outrun an incoming vehicle, also play a part when it comes to accidents.
I have found myself behind the wheel, and doing eye-to-eye contact with a person doing the cha cha cha on the road: I move forward, he also moves forward; I pause to let his pass, he also pauses to let me go ahead. It’s a mind game, but for a driver who is pressed for time, she could be an unwilling player.
Other than the jaywalkers, we also have commuters who hail pedicabs and public transportation vehicles in accident-prone areas like corners. The drivers of these transportations also respond quickly to these commuters – like moths to a candle.
These scenarios happen almost every day in our growing little City, making me look back to the days when I was a child. It dawned on me that perhaps these people who don’t seem as careful on the road may have been influenced by the locals – those who grew up in Dumaguete when it was less busy.
You see, Dumaguete – with its two-lane narrow streets – used to be quite a peaceful City. There were less vehicles, and the streets weren’t as crowded. For the longest time, we managed to travel from one point to the other without the assistance of traffic lights. We managed to cross the road anywhere that was convenient – pedestrian lanes be damned. We managed to maintain a conversation while straddled on our motorbikes, leisurely driving down the road. We…managed. What we had been doing were our old habits.
But now, who can do that? With the growth of our City, our leisurely lifestyle and traffic traditions can not continue. Along with growth comes change. Old habits die hard, but we can change – with the right leadership.
This coming election, I hope we can choose a leader whose sole purpose is for the people. A leader who knows the people, who understands our old habits, and finds ways to enact laws, strict but not draconic, to help us shed these habits, and develop good ones.
If other cities have managed to achieve such a change, and grew along with the city, I believe we can, too. Let us vote wisely; we are only as good as the leaders we choose.
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Author’s email: tashamaxineflores@gmail.com
