EDITORS DESK

Over the past week, social media has served up yet another course of motorcycle-related accident videos. This time around, the BOSS Ironman event had nothing to do with them. Rather, these were road accidents scattered throughout Metro Manila.

Three serious accidents

The first, and arguably most talked about was that of an allegedly drunk rider that had somehow ended up on NLEx. Realizing his mistake and the likelihood of being apprehended by the tollway’s patrols, he decided to counterflow up the Skyway Stage 3 ramp to escape. Unfortunately, he collided with an oncoming vehicle there, resulting in a fatal accident.

Just a few days ago, another video circulated of a motorcycle that appears to have gotten in between a convoy of dump trucks making a right turn. Headed in the same direction, he appears to have entered the small gap in between the two trucks. Yet because of a temporary loss of balance, he slowed down to regain some control. However, since he was in the truck’s large front blind spot, the driver likely didn’t see him and continued forward, colliding with the back and dragging it under for some distance.

The last is another video of two riders on a motorcycle speeding through a busy intersection. Taken from the camera of another rider, it’s pretty evident there’s a busy intersection ahead, with cars slowly crossing another busy street. Nonetheless, the tandem on the motorcycle sped through, perhaps intending to squeeze through a small gap in between the crossing cars. They unfortunately collided with one of the crossing vehicles. It appears the rider only honked the horn, but had made no effort to even slow down.

All avoidable with some patience
 

At first glance, they may seem like completely unrelated accidents, but taking a step back, they all could have been avoided if the riders in each situation have simply waited rather than sped through.

In the first case, had the rider simply stopped at the highway tollgate, admit his mistake, and let himself be apprehended, he may still be alive today. Granted, patrols would have likely discovered he was driving under the influence (DUI), riding a prohibited motorcycle on the expressway, and would have likely had his license suspended. Nonetheless, those are all far better than no longer being with us today.

In the second video, had the rider waited for the convoy or trucks to pass and proceeded after, the accident in this case could have been avoided as well. It’s pretty evident that these vehicles are fully loaded, will take some time to come to a stop, and have massive blind spots. 

The third is yet another case where slowing down and waiting could have avoided incident. It’s clearly a busy street. Speeding through is just asking for a collision.

Growing trend of impatience

The growing trend of impatience is beginning to be evident on the road. With pandemic fears finally easing and work productivity returning to past levels, the inevitable heavy traffic related to these has returned as well. With so many people needing to get places, it’s pretty easy to lose your cool after just being stuck in traffic for an hour. Tempers of drivers seem to get worse when travel time creeps into two hours on the road just within Metro Manila.
Being a rider myself, this feeling is amplified over shorter periods. After all, a typical commute from Quezon City to Makati in a motorcycle takes just 30-45 minutes, as opposed to one- or an hour and a half in a car. And so when travel time in traffic creeps into the already lengthy 45 minutes, we tend to get impatient too.

Yet unlike cars that have a literal cage around passengers, motorcycles leave their driver exposed to the elements, and in the event of an accident, the cold hard steel of another vehicle. I always try to remember that and restrain myself whenever a small gap in between vehicles appears. After all, squeezing through those gaps may save me a few seconds, but in the end, they hardly ever add up to a significant amount of time saved.

And perhaps that’s the little bit of math many of today’s drivers fail to account for. How much time does squeezing into a gap, boxing out another car, or speeding past an intersection really save? How many times has a car cut you off, only to be stuck at the same stoplight down the road? 
Chances are, these few seconds saved are not even worth the risk, much less the cost of getting into an accident or causing one.

(Iñigo S. Roces is the Motoring Editor of Manila Bulletin)