I don't remember if I mentioned this here before, but for the past couple years, I have been working with vehicular crash safety. Insert pictures of seat belts, airbags, crash test dummies (or to be more accurate, anthropomorphic test devices), twisted sheet metal, etc. and videos of vehicles smashing into concrete barriers, into poles, or other vehicles here.
In America, there are numerous regulations and tests that companies must comply with and pass in order to sell a vehicle on the market. There are also many rules that people must follow while on the road so that they keep themselves and others safe. Here in the Philippines, safety does not seem to be not held up to the same standard.
In addition, there aren't any stoplights in the smaller towns. And everywhere it's kind of like a free for all when it comes to staying in one's lane--that is, if there are any lane markers to begin with. Back home, it's unfortunately quite common to come across accidents, so I'm really surprised I haven't seen nearly as many over here.
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| Extremely low tread on tires. These would not do very well back home where there is currently ice/snow out on the roads--something the Philippines doesn't need to worry about. |
There are (usually) seat belts in private vehicles, but people tend to not use them. Rather, the "oh shit handle" or other parts of the vehicle like the seats or dashboard are used to brace oneself. And from what I've heard, one has to pay extra if one wants airbags installed. Non-safety related differences are that most of the vehicles here run on diesel and manual transmissions are more common than they are in the USA.
Two main modes of transportation in the Philippines are jeepneys and tricycles.
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Motorized tricycle.
There are still a few human powered tricycles, too. |
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The view from the back of a tricycle.
I felt like I was going to fall out the first time I rode in one of these. |
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| ...live chickens and goats...taking a ride on a tricycle |
People use motorcycles/dirt bikes here a lot....and most people don't wear helmets. Some people have trucks and allow passengers to sit or stand in the bed of the truck; some have vans and allow people to sit on the roof.
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| Many people sitting on the roof of a van.. And yes, that is a poor goat at the back. :( |
Okay, granted, in the towns they aren't going highway speeds or anything because there's always some sort of traffic since the area and country itself is densely populated. My uncle told me that in Manila (the downtown area) only certain vehicle license plates are allowed to be on the roads on specific days, known as coding, in order to decrease the traffic. For example: on Mondays, only license plates ending in a 1 or 2 can be on the road; on Tuesdays, only plates ending in a 3 or 4, etc. Saturday and Sunday are free. I can't imagine what traffic is like on the weekends!
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| Say what?? |
Road transportation here is definitely different than what I'm used to, and it makes the crash safety person that I am cringe. By the way, even though I am glad I don't have to deal with all the snow back home right now, I do miss driving my car!
Peace. Love. Happiness.
--TR
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