In the recent year since the birth of the MC Lane on Commonwealth, Macapagal and EDSA, I have been very partial in going against the implementation due to a few specific things...
1. It deprives us of the rights to use the road even if we pay the same road tax as everybody else...
2. The discrimination and segregation experienced from not just the ones who implemented the law, but also from the ones who supported it and the other road users who show no respect towards motorcycle riders...
3. The false sense of safety while those who continue to bully us on the roads are shown tolerance and is ignored no matter how blatant they are in entering our small piece of road...
4. The use of inconsistent, incomplete and/or exaggerated numbers/statistics that some people use to push the so called "effective or positive results" that masks the way our rights have been trampled on and is being used to say that our rights mean nothing as long as they achieve their so called "results"...
5. The coverups, media blackout and evident removal of the accidents on MC Lanes that we all saw, read about here in our wall and is seen elsewhere on the internet which for some strange, but unsurprising reason, is not in their numbers/statistics...
6. The failure to control other road users who are NOT supposed to be in these lanes...
7. Over all, the failure to implement the existing traffic rules and vehicle regulations and yet, they create new, STUPID and useless ones...
Since the implementation started, I personally used my awareness + acquired skill + patience in dealing with the way other road users cut, weave, block, stop and put us in evident danger... I get away unscathed because I always assume the worst... And with the experience I carry as an everyday rider and cage driver, My presumptions on how the other drivers would move about helped me deal with the "bullies"... And each time, they manage to anger me to the point that I have never missed an opportunity to shout at them or bang on their vehicles with my fist when they come too close to me... It feels like I am always in a battle for my life on the MC Lane...
Some people may think that this is an exaggerated notion, an excuse to use drama to heighten the emotions pointed against these lanes... Today, for the first time, I felt absolute fear not for my self, but for another fellow rider whom I was guiding through EDSA via North Avenue towards Monumento...
As I led this rider through, the usual jerks in buses, jeeps, taxis and other private vehicles were about... However, not only once, but several times, I witnessed multiple close calls... Good thing the rider had the concentration and the focus to keep it steady and use the maneuverability and proper braking capacity of our motorcycles when it was needed the most...
As we stopped right before Monumento, the rider exclaimed the entire experience to me and showed a great sense of relief for getting through the MC Lane... And this was on a good day... Where the volume was lighter than usual... One particular experience the rider mentioned was when an Isuzu Taxi cut across the MC lane so abruptly that the front brakes almost came to a lock... The extended use of the horn was all the rider could do to say, "HEY YOU ALMOST HIT ME!!!"
Aside from what this rider shared with me, the worst part of this short, but hair raising ride was when a green bus came into the picture... The rider does not know about this, but the moment this post is read, it will be known to the rider... Anyway, this particular bus, for whatever stupidity or evil possessed him, just went behind the rider and tailgated my companion for at least half a kilometer... I wanted to stop the bus, pull him out of his monstrous vehicle and shove his face in front of his bumper as I watched my side view mirror in horror as the bus came so close to my companion, that I felt the bus behind me even if I was several bike lengths ahead of them...
As much as I wanted to stop, pour my anger at what I have just witnessed, my instincts told me to keep going and get out of EDSA as fast as humanly possible and get my inexperienced companion out of the stupid lane that is just waiting to claim another victim...
As soon as we reached our separation point in Monumento, I felt proud of my companion and somewhat hurt at the same time because, throughout this ordeal, I searched and searched for any signs of any enforcement where I could come back to and just pour out my horrific experience and anger for allowing such things to happen... And to my dismay, I saw no one... Except when I got back to West avenue where I was already on the far side of the road about to make my u-turn... Then I thought to myself, heck, what's the use... It's been a year since the start of implementation and what has happened here, wont change or just get worse... Pushing my anger towards somebody who does have an ounce of concern or sense of responsibility towards the road users will be a waste of time...
So you see, the concern MRO has on the raw and stupid MC Lane continues and is an ordeal that gets worse... For the smart ones, they hardly follow the lane or just pass through else where... For the unknowing ones, they risk life and limb... For the ones who think it's good for riders, are as stupid and as arrogant to see and believe in the dangers that we, daily riders see, feel, and experience in these lanes... And there are those who just want to take home what they earned to their families so they put themselves at risk to get home safe in spite the risks brought about by the MC Lanes...
And now, we have C5 and Katipunan Avenue following in the long lane of STUPID that I am more than certain, isn't meant for our safety, but meant to remove us from the roads...
With that said, I would gladly give up riding if they pay for my motorcycle, buy me a car, and refund all the tax payments I made since I started riding daily... Which I am pretty sure of, has gone to the pockets of those who DO NOT THINK ABOUT OUR WELFARE AND ARE JUST OUT THERE TO PUT THEMSELVES IN PEDESTALS OF THEIR SELFISH INTERESTS...
Nuff said...
-JB
