How good a driver are you? Can you honestly rate yourself as above average?

An armored van that fell off the Metro Manila Skyway made the news a couple of days ago. This is the second reported incident in a year’s time of a vehicle falling off the elevated thoroughfare. What’s troubling is that the vehicles that fell landed on top of, and crushed, other unsuspecting vehicles driving underneath. Are there any deaths or injuries? It’s a certainty.

The cause of these similar accidents were attributed to the drivers losing control of their vehicles after driving way too fast, which is quite common for cars cruising along this virtual ‘speed zone’. Most drivers would rather choose to drive ‘by the seat of their pants’ rather than practice defensive driving techniques. Interestingly, according to some Car magazines like Car and Driver Magazine, most drivers think that they are better than the average driver even if their driving habits really show how mediocre they are.

Heck, most drivers don’t even know how to use the turn signal, and these are usually the one’s who speed by you and cut you off as a means of showing off their driving ‘skills’. You shouldn’t ride with them even if they paid you to. The fact that they can’t do a decent turn signal means that their brains can’t handle multitasking (look, signal and turn, look, signal and turn – it’s easy, right?). Which means that they’d choke and crash if an accident happens right in front of them, because you can bet that their evasive driving decision skills are off par too.

I was flipping through my phone picture gallery and saw this picture of CJ astride a steering wheel. The picture is really cute, but it dawned on me that he’ll be driving his own car someday. And the sad incidents above showed me the importance of educating him on how to be a responsible driver in the future. In short, I wouldn’t want him to fall off the road, or be crushed by a falling car. Not in any lifetime. Literally and figuratively. How about you?

Do cars fall off trees? Apparently not, but they do fall off skyways.

When it rains, it pours. I had a week’s worth of rotten luck with our car, “Puti”.

Incident 1: Date: Friday, October 6, 7:00PM.
Violation: Blocking the Buendia-Ayala pedestrian lane.
End Result: Traffic Violation Ticket plus my driver’s license got confiscated. I have filed a complaint with the Makati City Adjudication Office and a hearing is scheduled on the 17th.

My thoughts: I was wrongfully charged. It was a little over 7PM when we were driving Eastbound through heavy traffic along Buendia. We were caught between yellow and red traffic signals as we were about to cross the Ayala-Buendia intersection, which naturally forced me to stop. But I couldn’t come to a complete halt immediately because of the cars that were tailgating me. And so I ended up blocking part of the Buendia pedestrian lane and had no way of backing up or moving forward. A traffic enforcer comes up to me, asks for my driver’s license, says some jibberish, doesn’t hear me out, and finally cockily gives me a ticket and says he would’t have given me a ticket if I had just said sorry and didn’t contest the “violation”. Yeah right! I did apologize and I didn’t even lift my voice. I guess some people really have selective hearing. And whatever happened to fighting for what you believe is right? See you in court buddy!

Incident 2: Date: Wednesday, October 11, 5:30PM.
Violation: Illegal Parking. The car was parked facing the wrong way.
End Result: The car got towed.
Damage: Php 1,000.00 towing and impound fee.

My Thoughts: My fault. Sorry. Guilty as charged. Tsk!