Jeepneys no longer iconic due to reckless drivers, LTO neglect

The “jeepney,” is a testament to the Filipino’s ingenuity. The all-purpose army jeeps left by the Americans after World War II were converted to passenger-type vehicles by extending the rear part of the chassis. Soon they became a part of the daily commute of the Filipino. They became rolling canvases for Filipino art and became a tourist icon. That was then.

Now the jeepney (a Filipino coined term) has been called the “King of the Road.” Why? Because majority of jeepney drivers do not follow traffic rules. They choose to stop wherever they want to or feel they need to, even in the middle of the road, to load and unload passengers. They are a major source of pollution and traffic. In the provinces, you can see two jeepney drivers heading in opposite directions stop in the middle of the road to change bills to coins with neither driver alighting either vehicle, while a line of motorists on both sides behind them blow their horns to no avail. Worse, the authorities stand by idly as these go on. Also, majority of these jeepneys are built without passing safety standards, such that they are a danger not just to the passengers but to everyone else on the road.

The rear portion of these jeepneys, too are adorned with large sheets of stainless steel that reflect headlights, blinding the drivers of the vehicles immediately behind them, even as these jeepneys have busted taillights.

I wonder why the Land Transportation Office allows these infractions. The poor jeepney’s bad and undeserved reputation has become such because of its outdated dangerous design and outdated usefulness, due largely to drivers who have wanton disregard for road safety and courtesy. Is the jeepney worthy of being called an icon? Sadly, the jeepney has become an icon of lack of discipline, an icon of impunity on Philippine roads, and an icon of the lack of the culture of safety among Filipinos. And now even the pope was made to ride the “iconic” jeepney. Stop to think about it for a while.

Now as for the tricycle… As one of your esteemed columnists puts it: that’s for another day.

—RAMON G. RAYMUNDO, MD, FPCS, FACS,

SPC Medical Center,

San Pablo City