USING TECHNOLOGY FOR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT

Many years ago, the government bought an imported traffic control and management system, hoping perhaps that it could provide magical solutions to the problem of slow traffic flows in Metro Manila. By now, that system is probably gone, but the problem of slow traffic flows is still here. The MMDA has announced that the problem of slow traffic flows is caused by too many vehicles on the road. They could be partially correct, but I think that the volume of vehicles is only one of the causes. The proof of that is that there are many other cities in the world that have more vehicles on the road than we do, but their traffic flows are faster than ours. In fairness to the MMDA, they could actually speed up the flow of traffic by reducing the volume of vehicles, but that is only a partial solution. Even if there are lesser vehicles on the road, the traffic flows would still be slower if the bad habits of many drivers will not change, such as taking over incoming lanes and overtaking in the wrong places. To echo what the MMDA is saying, I believe that the problem is not just the volume of vehicles, but also the number of errant drivers and the number of those violating the traffic laws. In other countries, these violators are identified and these names are included in databases that could be the basis for increasing their insurance rates or cancelling their driver’s licenses. The LTO should also become stricter in issuing and renewing these driver’s licenses. IKE SENERES/09088877282/02-12-2024