A lesson never learned

I was on my way to campus last Thursday morning and was about to speed up to my usual 50mph as I drove through a two-lane stretch of straight road when I spotted a yellow barrier placed across the opposite lane some 500m down the road. As I neared the barrier and was forced to slow down because the cars ahead of me were slowing down as well, I saw to my horror a car wreck just behind the barrier. There was a campus police officer signaling to cars in my lane to stop to let cars going in the opposite direction to go around the barrier and come through. When we were finally given the signal to go ahead, I tried to take a good look at the wreck. The car was a black Toyota Altis. It was facing in the direction I was going and horribly wrapped around one of the many pili trees that lined both sides of the road. The car appeared to be brand new, the windshield was shattered and I noticed that the front air bags had deployed.

Later that day I learned that six students were in the car and were driving home a friend to a subdivision in the outskirts of town after a night of partying. The driver was killed outright and that one was in critical condition in the ICU of one of the local hospitals. While I was told then that the rest just suffered cuts and bruises, I just learned this morning that it was the front passenger who landed in ICU and that one of the others shattered his/her leg.

As the subdivision they were driving to was just beyond the place where I live, I figured that the car had skidded after the driver failed to negotiate a turn in the road and spun around and broadsided the tree on the driver's side, explaining why the car was facing toward campus. And the main reason for the accident was, as it turned out, nothing that surprised me at all: they were all tipsy--driving under the influence of alcohol!--and were understandably speeding through a road where the speed limit is 50kph. Not to mention that the road was probably slick from the incessant rain we had that evening. [P.S. I also later learned that the speedometer of the car was frozen at 90kph--way over the speed limit!]

It is an all too common cause for accidents here where speed limits and traffic rules are ignored and people drink and drive with abandon. I'm sure there are traffic rules here against drinking and driving, speed limits, etc. but as usual the problem is always the lack of enforcement. And because of this, people ignore the laws because they can get away with breaking the law. There is nobody to catch them in the act and so they dare break the law.

This is probably at least the fifth accident occurring in that stretch of road that I have heard of in my lifetime. All cars involved have ended up crashing into one of the many trees along the road. It is certainly very tempting to speed through a good 1.5km stretch of road where there are no major intersections (just a few turn offs leading to buildings built along the side) and no road damage like potholes and cracks to force you to slow down. In this case, it was all the more tempting to floor the gas pedal since it was 3am and there were no other cars in sight. I make it a point to maintain a maximum speed through that area within 50-60kph. But even so, I'm still passed by other cars whose drivers have obviously chosen to ignore the 50kph speed limit and drive at least 15kph faster than that! To make things worse, they usually choose to pass me right when there's a curve in the road! Ouch! Haven't these people been taught not to overtake along a curve where you can't see the oncoming traffic?!

In general, I'd expect that if Filipinos here had a conscience, they would be more obedient. They would obey rules and behave better. But then, no. It appears that the Filipino has no conscience and would go on breaking laws as long as they don't get caught. I believe this is the main reason why while they live here Filipinos behave so badly but that when they go abroad, they suddenly become very observant of the rules and laws. Why? Because they know they will be caught and punished in that foreign country.

It is a sad thought isn't it? As this latest fatal car accident has shown for the umpteenth time, Filipinos will choose to refuse to learn a lesson unless something bad happens to them.