Driving in Manila

Driving in Manila is quite scary for some people, especially for those who are fresh out of driving school and are driving around for the first time. With so many jeepneys,buses and motorcycles that share the road with private motorists, the road quickly becomes too crowded or too chaotic for newcomers.

So how do we deal with jeepneys? The pattern by which jeepneys move is quite easy to predict. First of all they will normally stay on the right most lane because this is where they pick up or drop off passengers. So if you see a jeepney on the right most lane, slow down as you pass it as they have a tendency to suddenly change lanes without using the turn signal. If the jeepneys are not on the left most lane, they will most probably swerve to the right most lane, so try to avoid staying on the right side of jeepneys. The biggest dilemma newbie drivers will have is when they need to make a right turn and there are jeepneys on the right most lane, my suggestion would be to just go to the right most lane and wait until you get to the corner and turn right. Do not go to the 2nd to the right most lane and try to swerve to make the right turn because the jeepneys on the right most lane will most probably crash into you or a traffic aid will pull you over for swerving.

OK so what about buses? Buses are not as predictable as jeepneys as they will stop at either the right most lane or the 2nd to the right most lane when they pick up or drop of passengers. So when they are at those lanes stay on their left side, but when they are on the left most lane that normally means they don't have plans of stopping soon so just treat them like you would any other car. Although take caution when overtaking buses, as a precaution i would suggest honking your horn a bit as you try to overtake just so they know you're overtaking.

Motorcycles are the newest addition to the list of things that you can possibly hit while driving. The past few years have seen the number of motorcycles multiply like rabbits during mating season which has led to many newbie motorcycle drivers roaming the streets. The thing about them is that they normally don't cause accidents while you are at highways or big roads, they will normally crash into you while you are stuck at traffic or making a turn somewhere. While you're stuck in traffic and trying to snake your way through it is when you are most likely to crash into a motorcycle, the trick is to always check your side mirrors before you try to move. They normally try to pass on the right side of your car while you're stuck in traffic, so even if you are already at the right most lane, still check your side mirror before you start moving because for all you know there might be a motorcycle trying to pass there. Another time you are likely to hit a motorcycle is when making a right turn, this is because they will normally attempt to make a right turn while you are making a right turn. So just check your side mirrors to avoid squishing them between your car and the sidewalk.

Merging into traffic might be scary and daunting for newbies, so here's a really simple tip on how to do it. First and most important is to use your turn signal, next is to slowly inch your car into the lane you're merging into and if a car honks at you or flashes their light just let them pass. Also remember that the yellow line in EDSA means it's not for private vehicles and you can only cross it when the yellow line becomes a dotted/dashed yellow line. I hope these tips making driving here in Manila easier for you newbies.