Road rules.

[Possum]

19 minutes ago, Jack Peterson said:

 One of the questions on the Exam ( that I had to take) was, who has right of Road at a crossroads or "T" junction, The answers was the First to arrive there Go figure 

I have not seen one stop sign in my entire province. Now I understand why they aren't needed.

[hk blues]

45 minutes ago, Old55 said:

Jack, I think you put your finger on it. 

We look at things through a Western lens. Why do you think so many Filipinos think this way and aggressively push forward of others seemingly without regard? 

 

No role models to teach them about the importance of manners, maybe?

[Possum]

Philippines ranks very low in "rule of law" in general. Next to last in SE Asia and 102 out of 139 worldwide.

Wife asked why Filipinos overseas are very law abiding but not in their home country? She decided it's probably due to laws being enforced in other countries whereas in Philippines laws are only sporadically enforced. So the chances of suffering any consequences are low. Accident prevention by law enforcement is near non-existent. Penalties are not often paid. I've never seen HPG in my province except when escorting some VIP. Local police don't have road patrol, just the occasional check point which is pure theater. Last week I counted 13 tricycles parked at SM with no license plate, this is a good indication of respect for law.

Friend of mine from Philippines moved to USA years ago. He got his driver's license which was suspended about 6 months later due to driving like a Filipino he said. He figures that with fines and increased insurance cost that was about a $8000 lesson. He's a very law abiding driver now.

[Onemore52]

1 hour ago, Jack Peterson said:

 One of the questions on the Exam ( that I had to take) was, who has right of Road at a crossroads or "T" junction, The answers was the First to arrive there Go figure 

Thanks for enlightening me as to why there is so much confusion at the stop sign at the 4 way intersection near our home, they all arrived at the same time, but seriously no one has a clue what to do.

[hk blues]

5 minutes ago, Onemore52 said:

Thanks for enlightening me as to why there is so much confusion at the stop sign at the 4 way intersection near our home, they all arrived at the same time, but seriously no one has a clue what to do.

We have a similar one not far from us, it's organised chaos.  Funnily enough, they make it work in the same way as we make it work crossing a road in HCM City in Vietnam despite the motorcycle mayhem.  That's not justification for not having a better system, though.  

[Avalon]

5 hours ago, Jack Peterson said:

 One of the questions on the Exam ( that I had to take) was, who has right of Road at a crossroads or "T" junction, The answers was the First to arrive there Go figure 

The focus is not so much on who had right of way in an accident, but who could have avoided it.  It's called the last clear chance rule.

Here's a Supreme Court appeal for a road accident:

https://www.chanrobles.com/cralaw/2020novemberdecisions.php?id=1418

"The doctrine of last clear chance contemplates two (2) possible scenarios. First is when both parties are negligent but the negligent act of one party happens later in time than the negligent act of the other party. Second is when it is impossible to determine which party caused the accident. When either of the two (2) scenarios are present, the doctrine of last clear chance holds liable for negligence the party who had the last clear opportunity to avoid the resulting harm or accident but failed to do so."

One of the best investments you can make here I believe is a dash cam so if you are in an accident you can show clearly what happened.

[Jack Peterson]

48 minutes ago, Avalon said:

Second is when it is impossible to determine which party caused the accident.

 Well of course the Local will say if the Foreigner had not been here it would not have happened 

[Colsie]

12 hours ago, BrettGC said:

Most countries have road rules, PI has suggestions. 

AM does most of the driving now, I generally can't be bothered. 

I disagree, the Philippines has two sets of road rules...pre and post accident... 

unofficial or pre-accident road rules used on the roads, e.g. The biggest vehicle has right of way...

Official or post-accident road rules are enforced in a courtroom...

[Freebie]

I walk around parts of Manila a lot and see some incredibly selfish drivers.. especially the SUV drivers. Thinking they have a 4 wheel drive gives them an advantages over everyone else, I see appalling driving skills ( lack of ) at pedestrian crossings where they have no idea what the function of said crossing is. .

Stopping where the sign clearly  states " No stopping " and then of course parking on the pavements meaning pedestrians must walk on the street.

When their error is pointed out, half will say " sorry " and the other half will be offended that their driving skills were questioned ( pinoy pride ?? ) and usually remark something lame like " no one else to park just walk on the road like everyone else. ". Sad but indicative of a level of selfishness that I see in other aspects of daily life here.

[Guy F.]

11 hours ago, Jack Peterson said:

 One of the questions on the Exam ( that I had to take) was, who has right of Road at a crossroads or "T" junction, The answers was the First to arrive there Go figure 

This is an actual exam Q/A? For years I've been saying the only rule is "get there first". In case of a tie, the larger vehicle has right of way.