South Super Highway Update

Super! The South Super Highway going South is Super, all the way to the toll booth at the Calamba/Batangas exit. I left Merville Road at 05:12am, joined the South Super Highway at Villamore and arrived at the Calamba/Batangas exit are 05:48am - average speed 80kph.

I then proceeded to Batangas Port via the Star Tollway and parked my car at Batangas Pier car park at 06:38am. Wow! South Super Highway - ang galing going South.

Coming back the South Super Highway going North was a different story. The highway was clear to the first (Total) service station, where it started to rain heavily. Many drivers slowed to jogging pace and most turned on hazard lights, just like we were taught in driving class, BUT most forgot to turn on their headlights - much more effective to avoid collisions when overtaking. The road became very dangerous because those with flashing hazard lights would change lanes but nobody could tell when or in which direction they were going. And nobody followed the advice of my driving instructor when I asked, "what happens if I want to overtake and I have the hazard lights on", answer, "turn them off, turn on the appropriate indicator till you have completed the maneuver, then turn the hazard lights back on again".

Having seen the dangerous results (of this driver training directive) that it caused on the South Super Highway yesterday I am thinking that hazard lights are better turned off altogether - except when you are a real hazard, i.e. stationery beside a major highway. I have searched on the Internet and discovered that to the best of anyone's knowledge the Philippines is the only country where we use hazard lights in this dangerous way. Could it be that the law maker who devised this policy also imports/sells cars in this country and actually wants more accidents so that more repairs/new cars will be required.

Soon after Santa Rosa the hazard lights became completely irrelevant because our previous dangerous jogging pace had slowed to a baby-crawl pace and I covered the last 24 kilometers on the new South Super Highway to Bicutan exit in a frustrating 3 hours - average speed 8kph!

In the current newspaper sponsored debate for the rich people of Alabang, about whether Skyway and South Super Highway toll fees should be reduced so that they can save more of their riches, I would vote for no reduction for South-bound section but the toll fees should be waived completely on the North-bound section of the South Super Highway only - sorry Richie Rich, if you live in Alabang you can afford the higher price of the Skyway tolls.

What do you think about hazard lights? Should we ban the practice of turning them on when it is raining?

Turning on hazard lights while driving in the rain is very dangerous - unless you plan to stay in the lane you are in forever, in which case turn them on by all means because YOU are definitely a hazard to the rest of the driving public. If you think the rain is so heavy that you need hazard lights then pull over to the hard-shoulder and wait for the rain to stop.

Headlights / fog lights: please use ALWAYS in the rain.

John