So another vehicle flew off the elevated portion between Sucat and Bicutan. And it broke the Internet. Keyboard warriors were quick to lay blame on your barriers, the idiot behind the wheel of the Montero, the curbing, the dips in the road, the weather, and the notorious wind gusts in that area. And to a certain degree, they are all correct. For once. Rock and roll to the world.
But before we all high five each other, why don’t we break this down one by one, in yet another attempt to avoid this happening again. This is, after all, the fourth time it’s happened––not counting the Strada that see-sawed on the barrier barely a week or so ago.
So. Firstly, to the idiot driving the Montero. Forgive me for the choice of word, I rarely stoop to personal insults, but after hearing the eyewitness accounts of two friends, you, sir, are a world class idiot and should be punished for your stupidity. I’m thinking something that involves pancake syrup, live sewer rats and that theme song from Wowowee.
By both accounts, you were doing anything upward of 160 km/h, or almost twice the posted speed limit. You approached one of my friends from behind (who was in the middle lane) swerved at the last minute to overtake him on the right (wrong) lane, then crossed over three lanes to overtake another two cars on the left lane, then approached another friend from behind, almost hit him because he swerved at the very last minute, then lost complete control of your SUV.
Both witnesses say that your SUV then fishtailed side to side, then smashed into the barrier, then ended up falling off and landing sideways on a concrete wall, as you are probably aware of by now. In other words, you were trying to do a high speed slalom on a public roads using moving cars as your cones. Idiot.
So. For the first part of this equation, and arguably the most important, the main culprit here is speeding combined with reckless driving, in the hands of an idiot that has all the driving skills of a three day old turd. If I’m sounding a little harsh here, you should read my first draft of this column. It would make Gordon Ramsay blush. So I’ll repeat, for the umpteenth time, there’s no place for racing on public roads.
Secondly, we all need to talk about inconsiderate and ignorant road users who insist on hogging the overtaking lane. I don’t know how many times I have said this, but if you’re reading this article digitally, this next point alone is already worth sharing on your wall, because it will save lives and a hell of a lot of aggravation. If you aren’t overtaking, or have finished doing so, GET OFF THE LEFT LANE. Period.
I’ve heard the argument that “Well, I’m on the speed limit naman, or even a little over, so why should I move?” Because it’s the law. And it is there for a reason. I don’t care how fast the other guy behind you is approaching. If he or she flashes his lights at you, move. Period. It is not your job to act as some kind of human speed limiter. Just get off the overtaking lane. Because all you are going to do is get this person that is already speeding either really fired up (you never know the situation, they could be rushing someone to hospital) and they will have to slalom their way through just like the idiot in the Montero and end up causing an accident.
And, take it from someone who has driven a real ambulance on real emergencies, we need to travel in the straightest line possible when responding and even more so when transporting. All emergency vehicles do. So keep the left most lane as free as possible. Hogging it is the high speed equivalent of blocking an intersection or a driveway. And I’m sure you don’t do that. Please. Stay. Off. The. Left. Lane. Unless. Overtaking.
So. Just so we’re clear, over speeding and under speeding can be just as dangerous. I’ve read that some people would like the speed limit for SUVs lowered to 80, and I strongly disagree. I drive a Trailblazer with a Rhino rack on the roof that makes it even taller than the Montero and I have no problem with the cross winds or the feeling of losing control at 100kph. When it rains, I drop to 80. It’s just my thing; I’d rather arrive a little late than dead on time.
Even with my Rhino Rack, that makes my car taller than the Montero, I still don't feel the turbulent wind at 100Km/h
Lastly, Skyway folks, the barriers. I know we are friends, and you have told me over and over again that they are up to International standards, but they are not. Sorry, it has to be said. I’ve got two SUVs, an armoured car, a Don Mariano bus and half a Strada against your contractor’s word. Still care to play? It not only needs to be higher, just as the Citizens Infrastructure Integrity Watchdog (Infrawatch) has told you, but you really need to remove that curbing along the foot of the wall because it only acts as a launch pad. In fact, while I’m no engineer or crash safety expert, I’m willing to bet that most of these accidents wouldn’t have ended up the same way if it were only for that.
Because while in this case it was quite clearly the fault of the idiot in the Montero, think about it. We can go on a hate campaign to try and slow every reckless driver down. Or, we can be mature enough to accept the fact that people will be people and will at times break the law. So you can scream until you are blue in the face that people need to slow down and drive like turtles, but let’s be realistic, it would be like trying to ban typhoons. It happens. And you must prepare for it. So to sum it up, while I know that you generally operate a very safe and well-maintained road, we cannot have barriers that are designed to deal only with cars that hit it at a hundred in the same way we wouldn't replace the locks of our doors with a note saying, please don’t break in. There are bad people out there, and while it’s ok to hope for the best, you must plan for the worst. Like the idiot in the Montero.
Please fix it.
The difference between NLEX and Skyway barriers. Notice the sidewalk on the bottom picture
