As you may have know right now, the Anti-Distracted Driving Act is now in full swing on Philippine roads. What does that mean to you? For starters, you might say that this implementation stops you from using your gadgets while driving but there's more to it to that because the Department of Transportation told us where or where not to place mounts and electronic devices as well as the corresponding fines and penalties for violators, which is very dismal to your wallet.
Some people are pleased about the implementation of the Anti-Distracted Driving Act but for drivers across the Philippines, there are some questions that needs to be answered by the LTO regarding this implementation, especially when they talked about the so-called driver's line of sight.
What is the "line of sight" in this implementation anyway? As mentioned from Section 5 of the RA No. 10913? According to them, the "line of sight" includes the whole windshield and on top of the driver's dashboard, except for the area behind the rear-view mirror, where they can place their dashcam, as they don't need to look at it while driving. Phone mounts? They can be placed either behind but not on the steering wheel on the instrumental panel, or at the center of the dashboard. As the law states "Gadgets with [navigation] applications may be installed in areas that will not obstruct the driver's view."
As drivers know, the Anti-Distracted Driving Act means that drivers can't take their hands off the wheel to operate their gadgets while driving such as making or receiving calls (except for emergencies), writing, sending, or reading text messages, playing games, watching movies, internet, anything you are doing with your smartphone right now.. That means you, speedo boys. You can't record your speedo while driving on public highways, especially SLEX or NLEX. That's too bad and so sad because that's the rules. Hands-free or bust. Speaking of hands-free, use of earphones is acceptable as long as you're not interfere with the line of sight but there's a major fine print to it; you can use earphones only for calls, not for listening music. Again, so sorry but that's the rules. If you want to change the music, do so before setting off or have someone do your thing while driving. Pays to have someone sitting next to you while driving. What about use of navigational apps such as Waze? Again, you have to set the destination before setting off but if you are planning a detour, you have to pull over to do so.
Life of being a driver of a car sounds even more exhausting than you were on the passenger seat, am I right? Being in a passenger seat, you have so much things to do such as toying with your gadget as long as you like, reading a book, listening to music wherever, watching movies, everything. But as a driver, the only thing you do behind the wheel when the car moves is steering, braking, accelerating, those kind of things. Many have dreamed of ever having a car but the harsh reality of owning the car is how to drive one because you need to stay focus on the road and as a driver, the only thing comes to your mind is you, your car, and the road. Nothing more, nothing less. Perhaps it's no wonder those who owned a car but can't accept the harsh reality of driving a car can always hire someone to drive one for them for a fraction of their allowance but harsh realities aside, driving a car does have some good sides because you get to know your car better, you get to travel places you can't normally do with your foot, and without some interference, you can really see the road better while driving a car, but all that upsides does come with the price and that includes great power and great responsibility over your car because there's the price of gas, the price of parts, the price of insurance, everything that makes it feel like it's too much work for the life of a driver.
With the Philippines experiencing a nightmarish rise of fuel as well as car prices due to its excise tax courtesy of the Tax Reform approved by the House Committee on Ways and Means, probably this is just Dutertenomics or the effect that the Philippines signed up to the Paris treaty to reduce carbon footprint but either way, that's just a big excuse to give Filipinos a major wallet-ache but there's a saying that a fool and his money will soon be parted and we are all fools to this kind of stuff. How can we became a slave to trends when we have so much things to do in our lives such as getting a job and helping our families while doing the most good out of others but when desires come into play, we acted like complete fools this is why fate is a cruel mistress to us because we never know what might hit unto us. Know this, if you ever thinking of getting your dream ride just because you recently got your driver's license, don't ever when you consider the harsh realities of owning a ride. Instead, do something that is more accommodating than owning a car. There are so much things to do in this world rather than getting your hands full on this full-time job of being a driver. Make the most out of your lives while you're still young and have a good life.
Thank you and good-bye.
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