Ignorance of the law?

Yes, Ignorance of the Law excuses no one... But the laws of the streets must be in check through careful screening of every driver who tries to get a license... Does that happen enough?

Just by looking and observing the riders and drivers out there, you will see that there are a lot of things that they do not understand... What contributes to this lack of understanding?

1. They are not screened properly
2. They have not gone through the licensing seminar that everybody was required to take when I first got my license
3. The lack of enforcement for the basic laws such as head light and tail light color is clearly evident... We see bikes as well as cars running different colors for their lights... A basic law that is being ignored...
4. The lack of pushing penalties to those who clearly violates the laws especially on public transport... It should be a zero tolerance regulation that if a public transport driver violates a traffic law, he gets stripped off his license since he does not only endanger his life but the lives of his passengers...

e.g.

Buses and jeepneys cutting 2-3-4 lanes to stop...
Buses and jeepneys swerving, dodging and bobbing on the road...
Tricycles doing sudden U-turns...
Taxi cabs doing sudden stops, u-turns, counterflowing, swerving, lane hogging, etc...

5. The amount of corruption on the streets that the departments concerned keeps on denying
6. The enforcement breaking the very rules they are trying to implement
7. The application of new rules when the old and basic ones are bing ignored
8. The application of new rules without consultation, proper dissemination, study, research and lack of Implementing Rules and Regulations
9. The lack of training for all enforcement
10. The countless self interpretation of the laws that leads to abuse
12. Poor road and traffic systems

I can go on and on with the problems and we can all do what we can amongst ourselves... But even if we go beyond ourselves and direct help and assistance to the departments on how we can help solve these issues, there always seems to be a reason for them not to do it...

But does that stop us? No... We still do what we can to keep on pushing for the proper implementation of the old laws and do what we can to provide as much information and suggestions for the new ones they keep making...

So back to what was said, what attributes to that lack of knowledge about the laws? It is simply, the lack of screening and guidance from the beginning of ones driving/riding lifetime...

Driving and riding tests should be mandatory... You fail, you dont get a license... You try again after a certain period of time... Much like the way it is done in the US and the way we used to do it...

You apply, you take the test... Not just written but practical tests as well... Just like the good old days... By focusing on this, you then filter out the continous growth of ignorant and reckless drivers out there... Then you work on stricter enforcement to keep everybody on check...

To be honest, the enforcement could really make a killing if the old laws are enforced to the letter... I can stand in one corner and get my apprehension quota in less than half a day by just catching each and every violator on an intersection... But the amount of selective apprehension and linency being given to people out on the streets makes it worse and worse each day...

Whether you like it or not, the truth still remains... What people see on the road becomes habit forming... Until they get so used to it, everybody thinks is alright... And enforcement practices lead to one thing... Double standards galore...