Let’s demand answers for traffic experiments

ONE FOR THE ROAD

Have you ever wondered whether or not we are living in a simulation? Elon Musk believes that the chances of us living in “base reality” amount to “one in billions,” saying that it’s probable that we live in a “Matrix” kind of existence. That may seem a little far-fetched, I know, but every time I look at how badly traffic is managed here, that not only feels true, but I’m convinced we are living in a simulation run by a four-year-old kid with ADHD that just had a double espresso.  

Take these random road closures or detours. They are the eighth wonder of the world. As in, we look at it and wonder what on earth they were thinking. For example – and this is just a random pick from hundreds I could think of – the intersection underneath the newly built Kalayaan Bridge that connects Pasig to BGC. This is a perfectly good intersection where those coming from JP Rizal can sometimes go straight to BGC. I say sometimes because for some unknown reason, they randomly block it off with rope and parked motorcycles, which leads to absolute chaos as confused motorists are then forced to turn right and then try to negotiate a u-turn about 100 meters down the road, then right again to BGC.  

That might sound trivial to someone not from the area, but that little detour adds anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes just to cross that intersection. Personally, I’ve been stuck for an hour when it was raining. And for what? What does the detour achieve except to keep more cars on the road for longer? Did it save a dolphin or find a cure for cancer? No. And that’s my point. If an arbitrary decision is made by an enforcer, LGU or MMDA, we need to start demanding answers to these “traffic experiments“ and holding the relevant authorities responsible for the wasted time, gas and added pollution and stress it causes. 

Because when you add these 15-30 minutes up, for every car that passes through, multiplied by the countless modified intersections and detours across the country, that would amount to enough lost productivity to match the GDP of a small sovereign nation. And it is only when we start looking at it like that and holding people responsible for those bad decisions will we truly see any change. 

Traffic is inevitable for any developing country. In some ways it's even a measure of economic growth. But suffering in vain by traffic caused through sheer incompetence, personal or political gain, arrogance (or any other reason except sheer volume) should carry the same penalty as theft. And when done deliberately on a bigger scale like, let’s say, building an elevated u-turn instead of a tried and proven flyover, then perhaps even plunder. Might sound a little extreme, but think about it. You are stealing people’s time, gas and quality of life. And for what? If there’s no rhyme or reason to these decisions, let’s at least create accountability. 

Because without it – like how it is now – what ends up happening is every barangay, city, or private development just turn us all into guinea pigs and play SIM city with our lives. This is why we see random Barangay beauty pageants or basketball games closing off a road. Or a pop up tent block the street for a card game. Or a u turn slot closed and opened at a whim; or a no right turn at red signal sign randomly placed at a busy intersection when it’s clearly safe and more effective to do so with care. Enough. 

It is time to start demanding explanations for these arbitrary decisions so we can finally fix the situation instead of feeling like we’re in a simulation.