Only in Manila...

Rushman

Post your driving related stories about things that you think would only happen here...

For example: I was going to Drive Thru at McDonald's Marcos Hiway (across Sta. Lucia mall) and the driver of a Gray Honda City Type Z LXi with plate # WME 453 decided to park at the entrance of the Drive Thru COMPLETELY BLOCKING IT...(only in Manila...)

PinaTigaS

You'll suddenly find yourself blocking an ambulance behind you, lights flashing and horns blaring, in a traffic stretch. You must've been deaf or something not to hear the sirens before it closed in from behind. And oh.. here come's the parade of vehicles going after it, probably the patient's relatives. Only in the Philippines.

brock

tapos wala naman pasyente sa loob ng ambulance. wala rin emergency.

rational

brock wrote:

tapos wala naman pasyente sa loob ng ambulance.

Sometimes, I have had the same thought but it's also possible that the ambulance is on its way to pick up the patient. So, I just give them the benefit of the doubt. Anyway, it's only one vehicle and I don't really lose much by it. Much better to let through one false emergency than to block a legitimate one.

shredmeister

... that any vip or some a-hole with authority can hire an entourage of blaring hagads causin a huge traffic jam

slamm

- Every Gov't Official and his 1st, 2nd and 3rd families need a convoy of bodyguards who don't know the first thing about tactical protection (kahit spelling di-alam). These people are supposed to protect them but in the end they end up with more enemies on the road.

- We lack police vehicles and personnel because they're busy serving as back-ups and escorts for gov't officials, weddings, and funerals.

- I chanced upon a huge accident on the Tagaytay-Sta. Rosa road a few years ago and when i rushed the victims to the nearby hospital/clinic, they had to be transferred to a larger hospital but there was no ambulance available because it was servicing the funeral of a Barangay Captains mother (just in case mabuhay ulit?). :(

PinaTigaS

^ ah sad. I even heard one time they use ambulances to service students. Para di ma-late?

Ba_bes

Last Jan 1 tambay kami friend ko sa Total South, student license holder palang po me and not memorized pa mga exit sa SLEX. The time pauwi na kami to Calamba, nag exit kami sa Sta.Rosa, reaching the toll exit na exitan pala namin inted of going to Calamba or Batangas...Napunta kami Exit papuntang Manila!!!! The hell... 10 pm kami umalis Total 12midnight n kami umuwi..sobrang naligaww!!

Steadily Green

PinaTigaS wrote:

^ ah sad. I even heard one time they use ambulances to service students. Para di ma-late?

Hey that ain't farfetched. Heck ambulances are used by some hospital personnel to go to beerhouses, for crying out loud!

GreatBop

PinaTigaS wrote:

You'll suddenly find yourself blocking an ambulance behind you, lights flashing and horns blaring, in a traffic stretch. You must've been deaf or something not to hear the sirens before it closed in from behind. And oh.. here come's the parade of vehicles going after it, probably the patient's relatives. Only in the Philippines.

well it kinda happened to me the other day rin. The siren DOESNT SOUND LIKE AN AMBULANCE SIREN. but some loud nice that a [email protected]$$ with "Wang Wang" does. kaya hindi pinansin.. pag tingin ko sa rear view ambulance pala. so i let him pass.

Rushman

Ba_bes wrote:

Last Jan 1 tambay kami friend ko sa Total South, student license holder palang po me and not memorized pa mga exit sa SLEX. The time pauwi na kami to Calamba, nag exit kami sa Sta.Rosa, reaching the toll exit na exitan pala namin inted of going to Calamba or Batangas...Napunta kami Exit papuntang Manila!!!! The hell... 10 pm kami umalis Total 12midnight n kami umuwi..sobrang naligaww!!

I agree that we lack road signs locally...Unless you've been driving for awhile or you can ask someone it's very difficult to move around based on maps. Including our expressways!

Papichulo168

I'd also like to point out this racket by the barangay captain and the makati traffic authorities along Makati Ave and Burgos.

Everyone knows (almost everyone) that northbound Makati Ave (going towards the Mandaluyong bridge) from Burgos to JP Rizal is one way every morning even on Saturdays. Those who still do not know and fail to see the confusing signs on Burgos are in for a big surprise because the yellowjackets (makati traffic officers) are waiting at the corner of Makati ave and Kalayaan like Kodiak bears waiting for salmon swimming upstream. This regulation is acceptable and very welcome because Makati bound traffic on Makati ave gets pretty congested in the weekday mornings.

However, the rule applies even on Saturdays so you really have to take Burgos if you plan to leave Makati by way of the Mandaluyong bridge. And this is where the money making talents of the Makati officials kick in:

The brilliant entrepreneurial mind of the barangay officials covering this area have decided to open a flea market along the already narrow Burgos St during Saturdays, transforming a barely 2 lane street into a barely one lane street. This naturally causes a bottle neck in Burgos so most of the motorists take a chance with the one way Makati Ave and are eventually stopped by the Kodiak bears at the Kalayaan corner.

It's a double whammy for Makati. Increased business rental revenue and increased traffic violations collections! Galeng!

Only in Makati, Philippines!

Makati...atin 'to!

Rushman

A taxi driver cut me off, so I cut him off, and he threw a water bottle at me! His fault? My fault? This is the only country I've heard of where people throw things at each other from their cars...

Rushman

Papichulo168 wrote:

The brilliant entrepreneurial mind of the barangay officials covering this area have decided to open a flea market along the already narrow Burgos St during Saturdays, transforming a barely 2 lane street into a barely one lane street. This naturally causes a bottle neck in Burgos so most of the motorists take a chance with the one way Makati Ave and are eventually stopped by the Kodiak bears at the Kalayaan corner.

Is that flea market for strippers? Strippers with foreign "friends"? Or both?

rational

Rushman wrote:

A taxi driver cut me off, so I cut him off, and he threw a water bottle at me! His fault? My fault? This is the only country I've heard of where people throw things at each other from their cars...

Oh... I've heard of worse. Seen people throwing things at others also. As far as road rage is concerned, I'd say we're about average.

monsterboy

Papichulo168 wrote:

I'd also like to point out this racket by the barangay captain and the makati traffic authorities along Makati Ave and Burgos.

Everyone knows (almost everyone) that northbound Makati Ave (going towards the Mandaluyong bridge) from Burgos to JP Rizal is one way every morning even on Saturdays. Those who still do not know and fail to see the confusing signs on Burgos are in for a big surprise because the yellowjackets (makati traffic officers) are waiting at the corner of Makati ave and Kalayaan like Kodiak bears waiting for salmon swimming upstream. This regulation is acceptable and very welcome because Makati bound traffic on Makati ave gets pretty congested in the weekday mornings.

Nahuli na ako diyan. The signs are really confusing.

Rushman

Who the heck decided to BLOCK OFF the right turn from Aurora Blvd to Katipunan at night??? (that's underneath the flyover) talk about majorly inconvenient! Are the trucks bothering BF's sleep or something??? DEFINITELY ONLY HERE...

brock

Rushman wrote:

Who the heck decided to BLOCK OFF the right turn from Aurora Blvd to Katipunan at night??? (that's underneath the flyover) talk about majorly inconvenient! Are the trucks bothering BF's sleep or something??? DEFINITELY ONLY HERE...

kahit sa taas flyover closed pag gabi hanggang dun sa underpass. start lang kahapon. muntik ko ng bungguin yun road barrier paakyat overpass kagabi dahil nagmamadali ako. sa ilalim daan tapos sa riverbanks dapat daan mo papunta libis.

rational

^^^
Yup.... Looks like this one is really only in Manila.

Flyover off limits for 6 hours daily

First posted 03:06am (Mla time) Jan 11, 2006
By Tarra V. Quismundo
Inquirer



Editor's Note: Published on Page A17 of the January 11, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer


TO ensure the safety of motorists, the C-5 Katipunan flyover in Quezon City would be closed to all types of vehicles from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily, beginning this week.

Angelito Vergel de Dios, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Traffic Operations Center (MMDA-TOC) executive director, said yesterday the six-hour ban would be enforced for 30 days to give the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) time to study how the structure could best be repaired.

The MMDA had imposed a round-the-clock ban on trucks on the flyover, which was weakened by a fire that razed shanties underneath the structure last month. Only trucks and vehicles that weigh five tons or less can use the flyover.

“The structure became brittle after the fire. This is to mitigate the effect of the load on the structure and to prevent any accidents,” De Dios said.

The MMDA, in coordination with the DPWH and Quezon City’s public safety department, began enforcing the six-hour ban on all types of vehicles last Monday.

On Dec. 26, a fire razed some 300 houses beneath the flyover, leaving a woman and her child dead. The blaze raged for nearly four hours and exposed the structure’s underbelly to extreme heat.

“It is natural that the physical property of materials making up the flyover would alter after long exposure to heat. In this case, fire affected the internal tendons and high tension wires serving as structural support for the [bypass],” said Ramon Ona, chief engineer of the MMDA-TOC’s Traffic Engineering Center.

Ona drew up alternative routes for motorists who would be affected by the flyover’s closure. Light vehicles going northbound from C-5 Road may turn right at FVR Road, and then go straight through the service road of Riverbank Bridge to reach Marcos Highway. Another alternative is taking a right to Maj. Dizon from FVR Road, right to Marcos Highway and straight to the U-turn slot.

Those going southbound from Katipunan Avenue may take a right to Xavierville Avenue, left to Anonas, right to Aurora Boulevard and left at 20th Avenue. Northbound trucks from C-5 Road may turn right at Ortigas Avenue beneath the Ortigas-C-5 flyover, left to Amang Rodriguez Avenue, right at Marcos Highway and straight to the road’s U-turn slot.

Heavy vehicles may also take Industria from C-5 Road bypassing Ortigas Avenue, turn left on Rodriguez Avenue, right toward Marcos Highway, then straight to the U-turn slot.

Rushman

Hey thanks for the info! But all this could have been avoided had we better fire control systems! Tsk tsk tsk...

sabonis

Umuulan ng malakas, may patawid na mag-ina na nasa gitna na ng daan. May lumilikong kotse, sino kaya ang hihinto? Alam ninyo ang sagot. Only in Manila .... Philippines

Pero tayo na din ang makaka-ayos nito. Pag may nasa kalsada na at tumatawid then paunahin na natin sila kung tayo ang nagmamaneho