I’ve been wanting to post something about my experiences driving here and I figured now’s a good time to do so, as I am heading back to the USA very soon.
Driving around this Country is much different than what I am used to in the United States. The organization and structure that we have in the States is just about non-existent here. Most stop lights here seem to not be functioning correctly. Even though they use the same Red, Yellow, Green system that we also use, usually not all 3 of the lights are working.
Sometimes only the green works, sometimes only the red….sometimes just a yellow and one of the other colors. It creates confusion (at least for me) when I’m approaching a light and none of the colors are lit up….lol I’ve also noticed that many vehicles will start moving from a stop light before the green lights up. In a Country where many scooters, Taxis or Jeepneys come flying through the intersection at the last moment, clearly running the red light, it’s quite dangerous for these guys on scooters to go shooting out before they have the green light……or the “invisible” green light. It’s truly amazing that there is not more accidents here.
Another thing I have noticed is that if I slow down or stop to allow a vehicle or pedestrian to go in front of me, people seem to rather wait for the next “gap” in traffic instead. This occurs more frequently with people trying to cross the street. In America, I’m used to slowing and waving somebody to go ahead, while they wave back a “thanks”. But here, even though I am just trying to be nice and let somebody cross the street by slowing and waving them through, they almost always don’t cross and prefer to wait. It’s really odd…..
Another major difference is the genuine lack of personal safety most of the scooter/motorcycle riders have here. Just like some riders in America, they think it’s cool to remove their side view mirrors and pay no attention to the vehicles behind them or to their sides while riding. On way too many occasions, I’ve had guys pull right in front of me at both slow & fast speeds. They just don’t pay attention…..it’s unbelievable.
Finally; I’ll touch on the pollution issue. It’s a big deal to me because I care about my health and obviously, I am more used to cleaner air in Southern California, as we have very strict emission laws. I am not 100% sure of what the rules & laws are here regarding smog emissions, but I see the Emission Testing facilities here at their version of the DMV; the LTO, or Land Transporation Office.
When I went to the LTO to get my Drivers License, I saw them testing scooters for smog with the traditional tail pipe test methods we use. But what I don’t get is that I see WAY too many Jeepneys and large trucks driving around spewing out all sorts of black smoke. It’s really bad….and I guess it affects me more, cause I’m driving around in a car with no Air Conditioning, so I can’t roll up my windows and put the A/C on recirculate. Whenever I’m riding in a Taxi, I don’t even notice the smog. It should be noted that the air here is not generally bad, as the Island winds blow it all away fairly quickly. But, when I’m in the City on a road between a bunch of buildings, the smog just seems to hover there and it’s torture….having to always cover my mouth & nose with a small towel. I need to get Air Con ASAP!!!