Discipline Zone

Confession: I do not know how to cross a street.  My cousins laugh at me because I wait for the street to be clear of vehicles before I cross while they cross the street even if the approaching vehicle is 5 seconds away from them. I can’t do that. Their argument: No driver would want to hit a pedestrian.  My argument: What if the brakes stop working? Even if the driver does not want to hit me, controlling the vehicle might be difficult if such trouble arises.

My lucky day has come. Butuan City will soon be strictly implementing several existing city ordinances that need to be followed for everyone’s safety. One of them is: “No Jaywalking”. Yes! Whenever I do my grocery which is two blocks away from my place, I always take the longer route.  I choose to cross the street where there is a traffic light. (Not all intersections have traffic lights.) I am sure that the vehicles will stop and I will be able to cross safely.

This morning, when I crossed the street, a traffic enforcer assisted me. Naks! I like that. For several months now, the traffic lights at the said intersection are not working. I do not know if that was intentional. The city might have discontinued the use since that street is no longer as busy as before since the completion of the new bridge.

Another concern of mine is addressed by another city ordinance: wearing of helmets for both driver and passenger of a motorcycle.  I have constantly nagged my cousin who owns a motorcycle to wear a helmet. I would often tell him: ” Say goodbye to that pretty face of yours if you do not wear a helmet”.  I would roll my eyes whenever I see him carry a helmet and hang it on his elbow while his head remained unprotected. ” Is your head that hard that it won’t break if it hits the pavement?”, I would often remark. Then, he started wearing helmet because traffic enforcers lurked around the corner and were quick to catch motorists not wearing helmet.  Thus, my cousin wore his helmet but he did not fasten the strap that secured it to the head. Oh my! He just won’t let me stop nagging. Recently, he came home a bit disappointed of a new directive: Motorcycle passengers must wear helmets, too.  “Of course!  When you have a passenger and you’re thrown off the vehicle in an accident, what do you think will happen to your passenger without a helmet? Fly?”  Whoever is responsible to strictly implementing these rules, thank  you! And the nagging stops.

This is the billboard posted on the streets. I used my cellphone camera so the resolution is not that great. Some other rules for strict implementation are “No smoking in public places”, “No parking in the highway” and “Loading/Unloading Zones enforcement”.

My aunt learned about the “No Jaywalking” rule the embarrassing way. Because she was used to just crossing anywhere in the street, she was already in the middle of the street when she realized her mistake because there is a  police officer waiting for her to remind her of the rule. She was relieved when all she got was a reminder. My uncle told us that strict implementation (with penalties) will start on September 16.

Today, the streets  are in order. Traffic enforcers are visible. People use the pedestrian lane. Nice job!

I just have one pet peeve. Can motorists not stop on the pedestrian lane? Vehicles should stop before the pedestrian lane! How can I cross when there is vehicle blocking my way? Pretty please?

“We are what we repeatedly do, excellence then is not an act, but a habit. “
– Aristotle