With the wide attention given to the road rage incident in Quezon City last month, a Senate panel's investigation on it on Tuesday, Sept. 5, opened a discussion on road sharing, respect for bike lanes, and better transport plans which in a way, could have prevented the altercation from occurring in the first place.

In the incident that happened on Aug. 8, cyclist Allan Bandiola recounted the incident which started when former police officer Wilfredo Gonzales who was driving his car, went inside the bike lane. 

During the hearing of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, chaired by Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, Sen. Pia S. Cayetano shared she started biking in 2003 wherein she also experienced being harassed on the road as if bicycles had no place there. Years after, she said that drivers are slowly understanding that they're not the only ones on the road with communities acknowledging the need to create bike lanes.

"But it requires a change of perspective na ma-realize nilang (for them to realize), I have to share the road. Maraming hindi naniniwala doon (A lot of people do not believe in that)," she explained.

Cayetano is the principal sponsor of what was formerly known as the Safe Pathways Act, which is now, renamed as the Walkable and Bikeable Cities Act.

Like Bandiola, she also shared that in her experience as a cyclist, it's a natural reaction to tap or hit a car since she felt like her life was in danger and she had to call the attention of the driver. She mentioned that its purpose was not to damage the vehicle. 

According to Cayetano, she was thinking about her two kids and being a single mother, if anything happened to her, no one would be left to raise them. She said that she used this when confronting the drivers who she also told could get jailed in case they accidentally killed someone.

"But so far, as far as I know, it ended well. I think, at least for me. It ended well kasi I’d like to think na yung sermon ko na talagang pinersonalize ko, sana mag-iingat na sila the next time na nagmamadali sila (my personal rants will make them more careful the next time they're in a hurry)," she said.

"So I share that story because yan din ang inspiration ko nung we drafted that bill...Merong mga moves to reduce the use of the biking paths, not just for bikers but for motorists. And that is the exact opposite of what the purpose of a safe pathway law is about. If it’s a bike lane, it’s a bike lane," she added.

Nicole Anne Cobbarubias of the Move As One Coalition mentioned how painted bike lanes are ineffective and endanger cyclists according to the Global Road Safety Guidance.

"Barrier-protected or grade-separate bike lanes are required to protect cyclists and give them confidence to travel on a bicycle," she said.

Tim Vargas, co-founder of Electric Kick Scooter Philippines emphasized the need for legislation on institutionalizing transport planning since he believes it is more futurecentric.

"What we have now is usually management na lang of the traffic eh. Kung ano yung nandiyan sa harapan na natin (Whatever's in front of us) we try to fix it," he said.

DOST Balik Scientist Syrus Gomari echoed this and mentioned that if there's bad design with the roads, why would there be an expectation that motorists would behave well?

What's happening according to him, is that the responsibility is being passed on to everyone on the road to figure out what they should do.

"But if we have implementing rules and regulations para yung mga isusulat natin sa mga bills natin about safe pathways, we can create infrastructure that is safe for everyone para next time di na mangyari 'to," he explained.

Wrapping up the discussions, Dela Rosa stated that the Senate is taking responsibility to do what must be done.

"Since roads are intended for everyone's use, it is but natural and incumbent upon us to craft laws and policies that adequately addresses everyone's concerns in relation to road usage," he said.

"Taking off from the valuable input of our advocacy groups, let us transform our road environment into one that is friendly and safe for all," he added.