When drivers can't (don't) read

It’s happening again. I flash my headlights at the car in front of me to get the driver’s attention. We’re on the STAR tollway where the speed limit is 60 kph minimum and 100 kph maximum for private cars. The car ahead of me is hogging the passing/overtaking lane or the leftmost lane of a highway at a steady 80 kph.

There is no response. We go steady and slow until I follow other drivers and just overtake on the inside or on the right lane, which is considered dangerous and designated as a driving offense in some countries. Here, it’s just considered passing.


Ever since we relocated to Batangas City, I’ve become more aware of driving violations on highways, since our trips to and from Makati take us through the STAR tollway and the South Luzon Expressway.

The one I really hate, especially when I find myself on the unlit STAR tollway at night, are those who switch their lights on high beam, whether they are approaching or behind me. The one approaching blinds me directly, and the one behind me, indirectly through the glare caused by his headlights on my rearview and side mirrors.

These are the times I wish for the power to summon rotten tomatoes out of nowhere and throw them at these offending drivers. Yes, I am very specific about the superpowers that I want.

These high-beam drivers are related to those whose head lamps are not up to code – the ones who fit their vehicles with running blue lights and those who install additional lights that shine brighter and a different color. Just like white, bright yellow and blue light blinds me.

Then there are those at the other end of the spectrum who barely use their lights. Their signal lights, that is.  They do not signal when they switch lanes, or do so at the very last minute. I sometimes wonder what car manufacturers can do to MAKE car drivers use signal lights. Maybe they should program the car’s alarm to go off when drivers move left or right to switch lanes or make a left or right turn without using the signal light.

I’ve seen so many near-misses when drivers switch lanes without signaling. A driver on the passing lane, unable to overtake the slowpoke in front of him, switches to his right without signaling and nearly collides with another driver coming in from the right, who did not use his signal light as well.  And no, it’s not the fault of the slowpoke who insists on using the passing lane, much as we would like to blame him.

Maybe he just can’t read. There are signs installed along STAR Tollway which say, “Slow vehicles use right lane” and “Left Lane Overtaking Only”. 

In exasperation, I read it aloud with embellishment after a particularly long time stuck behind the slowpoke on the passing lane. “Slow vehicles use right lane, you moron!”

My daughter, who was dozing off on the passenger seat, sat up and asked, “Does it really say that, Mommy?”

Sigh. I wish it did.