Warning: Reckless driver behind the wheel

THERE’S an entry to the Metro Manila Film Festival 2012 Cinephone Film Making Competition which caught my attention lately as it is related to my previous published article entitled “Warning: Dangerous Curve Ahead” in the Sun.Star Weekend Bacolod Edition dated October 21, 2012.

The cinephone is entitled “License to Drive” and it was made by Miss Bea Ivanica H. Mocorro and her production crew with the use of the handy gadget called the camera phone.

Bea is presently a high school senior at the Christian Academy of Bacolod. She is one of the ten finalists for the Visayan Region in the high school category of the competition.

There will be three winners to be selected for the MMFF 2012 Awards Night on December 27, 2012 and the reading public is enjoined to vote for their choice through e-mail and text messages.

My own driver’s license expired way back in 2010 and I haven’t renewed it yet, opting to take the public mode of transportation amidst skyrocketing gasoline prices. Hence, I’ve had the opportunity to observe the driving habits of jeepney drivers here in Bacolod City for quite some time.

“Nagaharurot” is the word that best describes some jeepneys plying the Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod to Bangga Patio route which is crossed by many intersections at the Capitol Shopping Center. This is the area where the passengers have to hold on to their ears and pray that they reach their destinations without suffering a panic attack or worse, a heart attack.

So far, the closest I got to a road accident was the time when the jeepney I was riding in bumped the rear portion of the private vehicle that suddenly stopped in front of us. This happened between the Alisbo Memorial Chapel and the provincial hospital. A few days after, I experienced some sort of dizziness which could have resulted from that minor accident.

So what makes for reckless driving? Drunk driving as well as distracted driving are the major culprits. Jeepney drivers get distracted while getting the fares and giving the change. Some drivers have companions who do this for them. Other drivers get distracted when they use their mobile phones while driving.

There are also some jeepney drivers who turn back their heads to see if there are still empty seats while their vehicles are running. Obviously this is a dangerous practice which must be discouraged.

Over-speeding is another reckless behavior of drivers. You’ll know if there is a reckless driver behind the wheel if you feel as if you’re on a race track instead of the highway and the jeepney you’re riding in weaves in and out of the lane where other vehicles are patiently waiting in line.

One can never tell when an accident will happen, but more often than not, accidents will happen when there is a reckless driver behind the wheel.