Why are Filipinos such bad drivers?

[Tommy T.]

25 minutes ago, Heeb said:

Fridays but they will parallel park in the street behind it and I'm still blocked in.

Here in Davao, many people spray paint or buy signs saying things like, please do not block driveway. They usually seem to be heeded is my observation. In some cases they will put something to physically block the offenders - potted plants, hollow blocks, traffic cones, etc. That seems to work well also from what I have seen.

The other day I was waiting to pick up L from her work. I pulled into a space just big enough to fit after maneuvering a bit. I put on the hazard lights and sat there with the engine running to keep the air con going. Sure enough a guy on his tricycle drove right into the small space between my car and the next that I had allowed for my escape. He pulled right in, not even glancing in my direction and walked away to his home? He was alone in his little world. Fortunately, this time, the buy behind me was leaving and had room behind him to maneuver. So I backed into the space and parked in a way that no other cars would fit. Maybe three or four tricycles would fit, but this time I was lucky...

Edited February 25, 2020 by Tommy T.

[Heeb]

13 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

Here in Davao, many people spray paint or buy signs saying things like, please do not block driveway. They usually seem to be heeded is my observation. In some cases they will put something to physically block the offenders - potted plants, hollow blocks, traffic cones, etc. That seems to work well also from what I have seen.

The other day I was waiting to pick up L from her work. I pulled into a space just big enough to fit after maneuvering a bit. I put on the hazard lights and sat there with the engine running to keep the air con going. Sure enough a guy on his tricycle drove right into the small space between my car and the next that I had allowed for my escape. He pulled right in, not even glancing in my direction and walked away to his home? He was alone in his little world. Fortunately, this time, the buy behind me was leaving and had room behind him to maneuver. So I backed into the space and parked in a way that no other cars would fit. Maybe three or four tricycles would fit, but this time I was lucky...

Yes that's my plan to put up a sign or something but I have a serious procrastination problem here, I make big plans for my next day and when I wake up I'm like...I just don't feel like dealing with the hassle, parking, finding items, bad customer service, cutting in line etc

Edited February 25, 2020 by Heeb

[Tommy T.]

23 minutes ago, Heeb said:

Yes that's my plan to put up a sign or something but I have a serious procrastination problem here, I make big plans for my next day and when I wake up I'm like...I just don't feel like dealing with the hassle, parking, finding items, bad customer service, cutting in line etc

I thought that was the definition of retirement?

[hk blues]

We don't drive so the space in front of our house is not used so our neighbour opposite can park with ease outside their front door.  Around 35% of the houses are not occupied so parking is not really an issue but would be if every house had a car.  Why?  Because everybody insists on parking right outside their house rather than opposite - their should be a rule that all cars must be parked only on 1 side only.  Even with relatively few cars the result now is all vehicles slaloming along the road - and sometimes there is a block as 2 cars are parked opposite and too close.  Another issue is that although each house has a carport these are, of course, used for storing everything but cars.  In addition, the gradients are too great so ramps are required to allow cars to drive onto the carports - most built cheap crappy ones which rusted or disintegrated long ago.

Whilst we are ranting - what is it with people here who feel it's totally OK to go around a roundabout the quickest way?  We have about 4 or 5 signs on our entry roundabout advising people against this.  At least 25% ignore and the guards, whose hut is right at the roundabout, happily salute them as they exit!  I took the guards to task on this and they couldn't be less interested - what does it matter being the consensus.  But, when I tried to bring in a dozen hollow blocks last week it mattered!  Our security system is that everything coming in is searched and a gate pass is required - going out is a free for all.  Might just be me, but that is the reverse of what it should be.  

[Gary D]

They don't understand roundabouts full stop. It seems that the traffic entering the roundabout has right if way not the traffic on the roundabout.

Edited February 25, 2020 by Gary D

[Marvin Boggs]

Even in the US, most drivers can't figure out the proper flow of a roundabout.  Here it is like a 3 ring circus!  But I find I can easily bully my way through since other cars don't know what the hell to do. 

[Onemore52]

Why do drivers in the Philippines get upset when you sound the horn on your car whilst overtaking?

It has been mentioned up post that you should only give a short honk when overtaking, good in theory but it doesn't work because the dumb skcuf don't take heed of that short honk and come out at you. While on the national highway the other day I was overtaking a bus that had stopped on the shoulder to let passengers off, as I approached to overtake I gave a short honk and even flashed my lights but the car that had stopped behind the bus come out at me, so I just planted my hand on the horn, then and only then did the car pull back in, another close shave.

Do their feelings get hurt, or is it another saving face thing by me sounding the horn?

Edited February 26, 2020 by Onemore52

[Marvin Boggs]

Maybe I read it wrong, but it doesn't sound like your short honk offended anyone.  Did the car have a negative reaction to the long honk?  In my experience here, 2 or 3 short honks is effective in advertising your passing intent.  I'll just use one if its a tricycle, because I don't want to frighten Nanay with her market bags or the little kid with their feet hanging off the side of the seat.

 

[Onemore52]

9 minutes ago, Marvin Boggs said:

Maybe I read it wrong, but it doesn't sound like your short honk offended anyone.  Did the car have a negative reaction to the long honk?  In my experience here, 2 or 3 short honks is effective in advertising your passing intent.  I'll just use one if its a tricycle, because I don't want to frighten Nanay with her market bags or the little kid with their feet hanging off the side of the seat.

 

I should have explained it a bit more betterer, apart from reading in other posts about not giving them a blast on the horn, especially tricycles who do get very upset, I had a passenger with me who berated me for using the long blast, but I said to him that you really have to wake them up and let them know you are passing them because mirrors fitted on their cars are just there for show, no one uses them.

[Marvin Boggs]

Haha, got it.  My asawa gives me that reaction too when I long-honk.  I figure its better than smashing into someone though!