Driving a car in the Philippines.

Since a few months I own a car. Yes, the days of Jeepneys and tricycles are gone. And what a relief: life changes from a time-wasting, annoying and irritating, to a comfortable and efficient stay on the planet.

The Car (sample only ;-)

At first I heard all kind of stories, driving in the Philippines is dangerous, people drive like crazy, you put your life at risk, and more like that. The good thing is: I learned to drive a car and participate in traffic in the Netherlands. A small country, with 16 million people, and, I estimate, some 7 million cars. You really learn to drive a car there. An Australian friend here told me how horrible driving here is. But he is from down under, just some 20 million mates in a country the size of an ocean. The problem here is, however, the lack of proper training. It seems like drivers licenses are issued as if it's bingo cards. That makes drivers mostly act like beginners, many are indecisive and have no confidence. Others are more experienced, and play king of the road.

traffic enforcer on duty

At first I was wondering why most cars drive on the left lane (right side but left lane). I found out soon. The right lane is a combination of Jeepney-Stop, parking lot, pedestrian area, storage for goods (some shops are too close to the road) and a 'safe' haven for replacing your flat tire. Traffic lights are rare here, but traffic enforcers are a great help to keep things moving. As I mentioned in a previous blog: There are 2 rules here in traffic: 1: drive on the right side, and 2: don't be shy. For the rest: use your creativity. The roads don't allow speeding, too many humps and bumps. 

Recently we drove to get to the casino some 30 kilometers away. There was more excitement in the drive than I felt in the casino. And when we returned, i still had my money!