Furniture Delivery

Oh, look it's an overloaded tricycle delivering furniture.

I'll never understand why these guys can't just buy a truck. It's much less dangerous and it cannot be prohibitively expensive. It's the kind of thing that pays for itself. One of these days I'm going to see an accident scene where there is furniture all over the road because somebody thought overloading their tricycle was convenient as well as safe.

The New Normal Jeepnies, Tricycles, and Taxis

The new normal is here and in Manila that means no jeepnies.  But where I live jeepnies are allowed though they have been modified. Let's take a look.

Each jeepney has its seats partitioned so that only 12-8 people, depending on the size of the vehicle, can ride at a time. This is good because it stops crowding. Having twenty people squished together is dangerous. But with less riders the price has increased. A 7 peso ride is now a 10 peso ride. However payment is still made the same way: in cash! And it's handed down from the passengers to the driver. So in that respect nothing has changed. You're just ensconced in plastic!

To pay the driver you stick your hand through that little slot and physically place your coins in his palm. Sure every one is wearing a mask but money is still literally changing hands. I guess that's why this driver wore gloves.

Every jeepney requires all riders to wear a face mask and some even have bottles of alcohol hanging from the ceiling for passenger's use. Here is what an empty new normal jeepney looks like:

Now if you haven't guessed the new normal for public transportation means partitioning the riders from each other and from the driver. Here is how the tricycles manage this partitioning:

I don't ride tricycles but I have a hunch they don't take cashless payments. You still have to hand the driver your money. Not all tricycles have installed a plastic divider in the back but most have.

The same partitioning is also seen in the new normal taxis.

What good is it to have the plastic installed if the entire driver's seat is not blocked off from the passenger seat? Why allow that little bit of space? Same goes for the front.

What's the point if the whole seat is not blocked off? 

So this is new normal as far as public transport goes. It's not too terrible. In the case of the jeepnies this forced limitation on passengers is a good thing. No more overcrowding!

https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2017/05/tales-from-jeep.html

Why not allow this jeepney modification in Manila? It might make things a whole lot easier.

Congressman Greg Gasataya Awnings

Congressman Greg Gasataya really wants you to know he exists. He plasters his face everywhere. But what has he really done for the people? If these awnings are any indication Greg Gasataya has been a comforting force protecting his constituents from the harsh heat of the sun and torrential downpour of rains which are both symbolic of political chaos. Through it all he is there for his people. He covers them with his love and his big dumb face.

Or it's just typical trapo crapo.

Interestingly I saw one of these awnings being delivered.

Is it really safe to drive around like that? Why not just erect it on site? Thats Congressman Greg Gasataya for you. Always looking out for his constituents!

Tricycle and SUV Accident

Came across an accident a when back.

It's an SUV and a tricycle. It appears no one is hurt. The SUV is blocking that turn however causing an inconvenience for drivers and slowing down traffic.

A close up shows the driver of the SUV holding a piece of framing from his vehicle. Again clearly no one is hurt. 

Now the cops are taking pictures of the accident scene. But why from so far away? I didn't see him taking any pics up close. He might have but not while I was observing. Maybe he has the lens zoomed in.

At this point the cops are handing out paperwork. The tricycle driver is holding a piece of paper which is probably an incident report or a summons. At this point the rain starts and the cops and the drivers all walk across the street to where there is an overhang. The vehicles remain blocking the intersection.

Why? Why if no one is hurt, if the damage is light, if pictures of the scene have been taken, why are these vehicles still there blocking the road? Both vehicles could easily pull forward and clear the lane.

Finally we get a close-up of the damage.  It looks like the tricycle scraped the SUV as there is a streak of blue paint among other scrapes. There is no indentation as if the SUV hit the tricycle. Being in a hurry to get out of the rain and the road I only took one picture of the tricycle which happens to not be the side which struck the SUV. From this angle anyway the tricycle looks fine but no conclusions can be drawn from it.

What happened and who is at fault I can only speculate. The tricycle likely turned at the intersection and hit the SUV either not seeing it or not caring that it was there and thinking it would stop. Tricycle drivers are a dangerous lot. They are slow and execute illegal turns all day.

The vehicle in the road is nothing new either. It's rude of course but that is the Philippines. Some repair shops don't even have have garages choosing instead to operate right in the street thus reducing a two lane road to one lane! When a jeepney breaks down the driver never moves it. Instead he pulls out the long seat from the back and hangs it out the rear door like a tongue, sets up a triangle, and then wanders off to wait for assistance. And when it comes they still won't move the jeepney. They will fix it right there in the middle of the street. Just more traffic hazards slowing everyone down. Thanks!

Horrible Tricycle Accident

I doubt even a helmet could have saved this man. Footage is not mine. Spliced together from videos sent to me through Facebook.

Seatless Tricycle

This tricycle caught my eye not too long ago. At first it was the loud radio that drew my attention but then I saw it.

No seat!

His butt must be made of steel. Does he not make enough money to buy a seat? To make a bootleg seat jury-rigged from a pillow? Anything?

Hard times are here and this guy's hard butt riding his seatless tricycle is proof.

Too Much Cardboard

Why? Why is there no one stop this from happening? Why is there none to prevent overloaded vehicles from driving on the roads?

How is he able to drive with the tricycle weighed down like this? How can he see where he is going? This is just ridiculous! And dangerous. Why not get a truck to do this instead of tricycle. Like this:

A bit overloaded but way more safer than the tricycle.

Overloaded Tricycles

Overloaded tricycles are a common sight here in the Philippines. So unsafe. A danger to everyone on the road.  

Just another example of the many very deep, intrinsic, and real cultural problems plaguing the Philippines which RevGov won't fix!