Driving

Scars, both physical and emotional, and tragedy come into our lives and do not easily fade away. Every time I look in the mirror, I remember what happened to me as an innocent 3-year-old. One afternoon during the summer of 1983, I was crossing the street to go to my friend's house when I was unfortunately struck by a passenger truck, which is called a Jeep in the Philippines.

A neighbour who saw me lying on the street, after the truck drove off, kindly rushed me to the closest medical clinic, where I was immediately seen by a private doctor. (There is no universal health care in the Philippines.)

I can still remember how painful the operation to mend my ear was.  “Who did this to me?" I wondered as blood and tears flowed down my face.

Even though I was just a small child, I was longing for justice to be served, but that was not what happened. The Barangay Captain (our mayor) let the driver off the hook despite the fact that he was drunk when the accident occurred.  He was only asked to pay the medical expenses, and worse than that the incident was not reported to the Land Transportation Office.  This is a reflection of the corruption in the Philippine’s legal system. Because the driver was a family friend, rich, and a well-known politician he did not have to account for his actions.  

Even when an accident leads to the death of a victim, the driver is not prosecuted. He or she just pays the family of the victim off. The driver who is responsible for the accident keeps his or her licence, which means he or she can hit someone else in future. It is insane that the laws regarding car accidents are not enforced and I don’t foresee anything changing.

When I came to Canada and got my driver’s license, I was very impressed with the strict rules and regulations. I was also amazed to discover that people here are held accountable for their actions: you lose your licence and go to jail if someone dies because of your careless and/or impaired driving.   

I wish these laws would be implemented in the Philippines. Life is precious and no one has the right to take it away because of their careless driving, so drive safely and responsibly.