I am going to get quite disheveled in this entry.

If you've ever driven in Metro Manila, you know that we have the worst kid of vehicular and pedestrian traffic. It's madness on virtually any given time of the work day. To put things in perspective, an 11 kilometer drive (that's about 5 miles) from Makati to Katipunan Ave. could take about, oh, 45-60 minutes when it's really bad.

This is a result of a confluence of events and circumstances, mostly out of lack of urban planning. The malls, for instance, are right smack dab in the middle of EDSA -- main street to Metro Manila. Roads are too narrow, and pedestrians ran amok. A new subway-surface train has alleviated some anxiety, but hasn't completely desnarled the city. It certainly doesn't help the drive if EDSA is lined with gaudy outdoor advertising and a hairnet of power lines, but that's another blog entry.

What prompted me to blog about the traffic is this bit of information from the MMDA:

Angelito Vergel de Dios, MMDA Traffic Operation Center (TOC) executive director, said there are about 600 violations that are monitored and photographed daily in various parts of Metro Manila.

He said the high rate of violations showed that there are still many erring drivers that are ignoring the traffic schemes of the agency. Among the frequent violations committed include the yellow-lane scheme, loading and unloading of passengers in prohibited areas, and reckless driving.

The “no-contact” apprehension program against traffic violators wherein enforcers take photographs to get evidence against erring drivers have resulted in the arrest of more than 8,000 bus drivers since April. Records showed that 8,872 buses were caught violating traffic rules from April 12 to October 12 through the no-contact apprehension scheme of the MMDA.

Now, I used to have in my mind a list of my least liked people. In the Top 3 were bus drivers (don't fret, Imelda, you're still in the Top 5), and I have myself flicked my middle finger on a few. Bus drivers are the most brutish, incompetent and obnoxious members of the driving community, and I say this with student drivers in mind. I firmly believe its an attitude problem (or the fumes), but most likely its the way most bus franchises are run (by quota), leading drivers to compete against each other and turning Metro Manila into a race track for diesel dragsters. The bus lines should have never been franchised.

And 8,000 errant bus drivers -- 8frigginthousand -- just blows my mind. That's within a six month period that EXCLUDES December. I didn't think there would have been that many, but I am overjoyed at the apprehensions nonetheless. Bus drivers are crude, brainless and insensitive ruffians that hog the lanes, swerve and stop when they want to, and don't mind the little dings and scratches on their big metal frames in the name of getting ahead of you in your lane -- all in a days' work. And, bus drivers are the ones with the Professional Driver's Licenses.

Of course, the little angel in me (he actually looks like David Spade) is saying, hey, they're just trying to make an honest living -- well, blow me, we all are. Keep those bus drivers in check.