On the dangers of drowsy driving
Here’s another quick share of an article on road safety. This one is about drowsy driving, which is said to be more dangerous than drunk driving. Drowsy here is equated to being sleepy – for whatever reasons may have led the driver to be drowsy. Perhaps lack of sleep, fatigue or being simply tired, or maybe due to food or medication he/she took before driving.
Here is the link to the article, which has a link to the report referred to in the article:
https://www.ghsa.org/news/drowsy-driving-new-data-analysis
From the article:
“…several strategies to combat this dangerous behavior:
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Start with prevention: Promoting healthy sleep habits for everyone – especially for teens as they begin their driving journey – is essential. Drivers should practice good “sleep hygiene,” which includes sleeping in a quiet, cool, device-free environment and avoiding caffeine or alcohol before bed.
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Vehicle technology that’s available now: Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) features can monitor for telltale signs of drowsiness (like yawns or long blinks) and issue visual, auditory or haptic alerts to tell drivers to take a break. Notably, none of the current systems prevent a driver from ignoring them and continuing to drive, or from turning them off entirely.
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Change the culture at work and school: Employers should implement responsible scheduling and travel policies to minimize fatigue. School districts can consider shifting high school start times later in the day to help teens get more rest. One study of high school student drivers found significantly lower crash rates with a later school start time.
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Build more, smarter infrastructure: Infrastructure changes such as rest stops, rumble strips and cable median barriers can help prevent drowsy driving, wake drivers up or reduce the severity of a run-off-the-road crash.”
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On at-grade crossings and footbridges
Here’s a quick share of an article on how at-grade crossings are generally better and preferred over footbridges:
When Footbridges Cost Lives and At-Grade Crossings Save Them
The article effectively articulates the case for at-grade crossings and presents the facts and references in support of these crossings. I will only add here that context is still important along with an appreciation or understanding of the volume of traffic and occupancy of vehicles along the roads. Commonwealth Avenue, for example, requires footbridges but there should be better designs for these footbridges than the current ones along this highway. I think we lack good designs that we can refer to and this leads to a summary dismissal of footbridges where they are actually most suitable.
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A quick note on road safety parks
A new road safety park is to open today in Muntinlupa City in Metro Manila. While the objectives of the park appear to be clear enough to most people, I’ve seen some unusual reactions vs. the park. Instead of stating my piece about this and road safety parks, I will just share a couple of links on similar facilities in two countries in our region where road safety is strongly advocated not just by private citizens but by their governments:
Road Safety Park in Singapore: https://www.torque.com.sg/features/singapores-road-safety-community-park-was-built-30-years-ago/
Traffic Garden (Taman Lalu Lintas) in Malaysia: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BF8ruywsZ/
You can also try to Google other road safety parks or gardens in other countries to see other examples of these and how other cities have utilized the parks to promote road safety especially among children. It is better to learn about these parks and perhaps recommend how these can help rather than start shooting from the hip to discredit these and their proponents.
[Note: The MMDA has a road safety park in Manila that is patterned after the Malaysian and Singapore examples.]
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On road clearing and towing of illegally parked vehicles
The MMDA conducted road clearing operations along Katipunan Avenue this Tuesday. To be exact, they towed illegally parked vehicles in the area. We saw a fleet of tow trucks lined along C.P. Garcia Avenue prior to the operations.
There are many illegally parked vehicles along Katipunan and the side streets to it. It is partly due to parking minimums (as stipulated in the National Building Code) not being followed and mainly because of the dependence on cars and high car ownership attributed to residents there.
Operations like this by the MMDA or LGUs are important because spaces need to be reclaimed especially for pedestrians. There is of course their main objective of easing traffic along roads whose capacities were decreased by on street parking. Do these streets need to be redesigned? Maybe but not now considering the resources required for transformation. It’s not as easy as the examples being peddled on social media.
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Landmarks: the Jaro Belltower
Here are some photos of a landmark in Iloilo that served as the reference for many jeepney routes. I recall from childhood that we rode the jeepney from Cabatuan and transferred here to another jeepney bound for city proper. Going home, we Di the reverse. We also hopped on a jeepney here to go to other towns like Leganes or farther districts of the city such as Molo or Arevalo. Of course, it’s different now after all the rerouting of public transport. Provincial jeepneys now terminate at the periphery of the city and no longer reach Jaro.
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On the rideshare competition among 4 and 2-wheeler companies.
Grab is the current market leader for rideshare or TNVS involving cars or 4-wheeled vehicles. Others like Joyride and Angkas went the way of legalizing motorcycle taxis. Grab applied for the same as they were already operating motorcycles for food and deliveries; competing with another company, Lalamove, which focuses on deliveries. Disallowed by the LTFRB to deploy MC taxis under their brand, they acquired Move It to circumvent the decision.
Meanwhile, as Grab continued their dominance of the rideshare market, the other players decided to offer some competition. I say ‘some’ because the perception is that they have not really gained much vs. Grab. You don’t see many Joyride taxis though a couple of companies appear to be making some impact – In Drive and Green GSM. The latter though is a taxi company that looks to attract people back to the conventional but app-enhanced taxi services
Last week, we saw this car with a familiar brand on its side. Sporting the colors and logo of MC taxi leader Angkas, they coined a brand for their cars – Angcars.
Whether people will take to these competitors for 4 or 2-wheelers so there is not an imbalance of market shares depends on public perception based on the cost and convenience, among other factors, of availing the services of these companies. Conditions may also vary depending on the cities. That is, situations may be different elsewhere like Cebu, Davao or Iloilo.
These modes, however, are still cars and motorcycles, and are regarded as private vehicles in terms of operational characteristics. Even if they are also public utility vehicles (they are for hire with fare rates), these represent a segment of private mode share. There is really a need to improve and improve and expand public transport services in order to retain or increase transit mode shares. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of time and resources to build railways so road-based public transport is still the main option where improvements need to be realized.
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What’s left of NAIA Terminal 4?
When we landed at NAIA last Saturday, our plane passed Terminal 3 to what we thought were the usual spaces for transporter interface with the terminal. We passed the area and proceeded to where Terminal 4 used to be. T4 was the Manila Domestic Airport or MDA in old documents.
The terminal building was demolished last year as part of San Miguel’s airport redevelopment that included building an extension of Terminal 2 and a new Terminal (5?) where the Philippine Village Hotel and Nayong Pilipino were located. A new terminal will also be built where the old one stood. How does this relate to the airport being developed in Bulacan? Will this be complementary airports like Narita and Haneda? Or perhaps like Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi?
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Tambayan at NAIA Terminal 3 – Part 1
I am sharing here some photos of the food hall found at Level B between the arrival and departure levels of Terminal 3. I’ve read about the renovations and improvements over the last few months but I haven’t been able to go around T3 in a while. Most of my travels last year were via Terminal 2 due to my travels to Bicol. The photos speak for themselves so I won’t be writing labels for each photo.
There are many eating options and more are going to open soon. We had our lunch at Pancake House prior to proceeding to our gate for our flight to Iloilo.
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Safety roller barriers along Sumulong Highway
Last week, I observed that the DPWH is currently installing road safety barriers along a section of Sumulong Highway in Antipolo City. Previously, I posted about the same along the Antipolo-Teresa Road, which has treacherous zigzag sections. Here are photos of the ongoing installation work along Sumulong between Padi’s Point and the Oscar Lopez Center.
Here is a link to what these barriers are and how they help make roads safer for all users:
https://roadskyguardrail.com/what-is-a-safety-roller-barrier-a-comprehensive-guide
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AI for Planners Explained: Urban Digital Twins
We begin February 2026 with an article share. The following article (click the link) is about one artificial intelligence (AI) application relevant to the transportation field:
Source: AI for Planners Explained: Urban Digital Twins
To quote from the article:
“UDTs are already being used for development review, infrastructure planning, climate resilience, and operations. They are not speculative technologies. They are becoming part of how cities represent themselves and make decisions.
If planners treat UDTs as purely technical platforms, they risk losing influence over how problems are framed and solutions evaluated. If planners engage early, they can ensure that these systems reflect planning values like equity, transparency, participation, and long-term thinking.
AI will continue to evolve and UDTs offer a preview of how that evolution may shape planning practice. This does not mean by replacing planners, but by changing how planning knowledge is created, tested, and shared.
The question is not whether cities will build UDTs. Many already are. The real question is whether planners will help decide what those twins are for, and how they improve the quality of life.”
-[Note: UDT is urban digital twin]
Caught (up) in traffic 