May I call all serious bikers' attention on the column "Oh by the highway.." on p. 3 of the above-mentioned complimentary mag entitled "Motorcycle Madness." The writer, a certain Bert Olbes, proceeds to say the most derogatory things about riders especially on their having to use the sidewalk in certin instances and I quote: "Ever seen a motorcyclist pulled over and receiving a traffic ticket?"

I am so incensed but am beating a couple of deadlines just now.

May I ask brother bikers to help this man see the light? Let us share with him our own take on why we do the things we do. The publication's staff box gives this email address skyway_express@yahoo.com.

As usual motorcyclist are considered second class. Not even respected. Your only respected here if you have a BIG CAR. :angry:
We are considered more of a nuisance. :eek:
However to be fair there are motorcyclist who can be irresponsible and reckless. Just as there are car motorist and bus drivers who can be reckless too. Just because you have a lisence doesn't mean you a good driver. There is such a thing as road courtesy. However when your courteous here it equates to weakness.
Which is why I think there should be more ads on the roads informing people not only of the latest underwear (Gigantic posters especially in the guadalupe and even on the turnpike near the Bicutan area) :O to wear but more so on rules and regulations and rights of all motorist. Does anyone see any? How is anyone ever going to learn these things. Once you get your license here you sorta forget everything you've learned. And even if there are programs that teach this, attention span is limited.
How this for a change? More ads on motorist and motorcyclist and yes even pedestrians rights..

Can somebody post some or all of the article? I have tried searching for it on the web with no success.

To write an email we should first be really be clear on what he said.

their staff box mentions no web site.

scanned the article itself and apologize for not having installed an ocr so you get a lores jpg instead.

just pls holler if the file size is too big.

sorry again cos am just too busy.

I just read it and I don't dispute it.

I wont deny that this column has a lot of true and highly volatile issues in it. Just my point of view, sometimes we need to police our own. like what happened to me last week, told a fellow rider; bro bawal umakyat dyan sa walk way specially when a lot of people is using it right now, your giving us riders a bad rep..... then he got caught by the MMDA at the end corner.

There are real issues here that we really need to start to look into, before this becomes a serious problem, and hits us riders right in the face.

:o Forgot to mention more ads on motorcyclist rights on the "hi-ways" & roads themselves for all motorist to see all the time and be reminded constantly. Sometimes you see signs that say "Practice road courtesy". Exactly what kind of courtesy or how may be anyones guess and usually subjected to self-interpretation for ones own self interest.
Information is best applied where it is needed most. In this case right on the road.

Most motorist veiw motorcyclist as "roaches of the hiways". with little rights. Were people too. We have as much right as those people in big cars who push their way tru traffic :g and bully everyone else. :angry:

:bouncy:

my two cents. i agree there is some truth in the article, especially about the delivery boys. maybe the responsible motorcycle community can do something about this because whether we like it or not, it will reflect badly on responsible riders. ive talked to some people in the Honda Riding School and they are itching to reach out to companies who employ motorcycle riders for deliveries and emphasize safety. actually there have been some who enroll, but i guess what they have learned becomes lost to them eventually.

however, the article, if i may comment, makes the premier mistake of all bad writing. that is, making sweeping generalizations. im very surprised it got to see print. oh well, halatang may agenda.

peace all!!

If its a delivery boy, then tough luck on teaching them how to ride. The have to meet deadlines when delivering items so they do whatever possible to get there fast. Kinda like the FEDEX comercials on TV.

Riding on the sidewalk, Yes, I've done it before and it does save you lots of time in traffic. I did it on the service roads going to makati or bicutan, cuz it would take 15 mins for the traffic to move. There weren't people using the side walk at the time. Now, I refrain from using them. Mainly to keep the good biker image and cuz its illegal. But when you see other bikers doing it though the temptation is still there.. =b

I drive a car, I also ride a bike and sometimes I walk from my office to the mall. Under all circumstances, whether I am driving, riding my bike or walking, there is always that instance of a motorcyclist cutting me off, swerving in front of me, or worst taking over the side walk driving straight to me that I had to move out of his way or I risk being hit. It pisses me off too.
Sad to say, most of them are couriers or delivery riders beating delivery schedules.
I do agree with everybody in both ways; having to police our own ranks, and the need to educate both the riders and the enforcers on the rules and rights of motorcycles. I still have to see a law enforcer stopping a rider for violating traffic rules. I have only seen bikers stopped for random check or for not wearing a helmet.
We have a long way to go 'bros. improving our image and system need our concerted effort.
I am glad forum like this exist so we can share expriences. More minds being put together hopefully can come up with better solutions.
It has done good things in the past.
Let's keep it up.

Peace!

We have a long way to go 'bros. improving our image and system need our concerted effort.

Peace!

Correct, and unfortunately it's the pizza pilots who get noticed, not the orderly riders like you and I. To the uninformed public a motorbike is a motorbike is a motorbike, and they don't distinguish. The result is we are all brought down to the lowest common denominator. I have no doubt that this prejudice is also behind the freeways usage issue.

I don't think this is going to change, so all we have in our resources is courteous riding, proper signalling and lane usage, and perhaps best of all, a courteous wave whenever we can. If that is remembered in the Philippines where I have encountered some of the rudest road manners I've ever met in the more than 50 countries I have visited in my lifetime, then it won't have been in vain.

my two cents. i agree there is some truth in the article, especially about the delivery boys. maybe the responsible motorcycle community can do something about this because whether we like it or not, it will reflect badly on responsible riders.

-snip-

however, the article, if i may comment, makes the premier mistake of all bad writing. that is, making sweeping generalizations. im very surprised it got to see print.

which maybe my point really.

like boy abunda insists, in that show of inanities (keeping the general public from realizing that gas pump prices increased automatically after the elections,) 'there is another side to the story'

which was never presented by mr olbes

oh well, halatang may agenda.

i say amen to that, look who is talking: the freeway, which hasn't been exactly very hospitable to us bikers until forced to do so by the courts.

peace all!!

with all the level-headed replies that have been said so far, my being incensed is mainly fed by this wonderfully written article: Myths and Misconceptions, posted on this site's main page, which unfortunately does not have a byline.

just read these gems from that article:

"If you are what we call a cager (a cage is any enclosed vehicle), next time you are stuck in traffic watching the bikes zip by, try to imagine what the traffic would be like if we all stayed in lane, or used our cars because if we have to sit in the queue we might as well do it in air conditioned comfort. Our protective gear is extremely hot in this climate when not moving so standing still under the sun is not a good thing to do."

"When traffic is queued at traffic lights or moving very slowly it is common to see bikes slipping through the traffic up to the front. Sometimes they may even get stuck in front of you sitting in your car before a gap opens up and they are gone. What really upsets the car driver is that he/she is stuck in the traffic while the biker just slips through and away."

"When you are driving your car in heavy traffic and there is a gap big enough for you to move forward do you sit still while listening to the inevitable racket of horns behind you or do you move forward? Why are bikers branded as undisciplined because they move forward rather than block traffic?

"So what should riders do? Stay in line taking up the space of a car? I wonder how much longer the traffic queues would be and how much longer it would take the car driver to get to his destination if we did that? It would be like adding 36% more vehicles to the traffic."

"Bikers in general are far more likely to help people in trouble and promote law and order. Like any other group there are misfits. There are riders who jump red lights, ride on the sidewalk, etc but they are a tiny minority. Unfortunately they are the ones who get noticed and remembered. The hundreds of law abiding riders you see every day go unnoticed and are rarely remembered."

i hope the rest of you sirs out there get a better understanding why i began this thread.

in fact right after posting this, i would email "Myths and Misconceptions" to that Mr Olbes.

Myths and Misconceptions, posted on this site's main page, which unfortunately does not have a byline.

It is an article I did for my regular column in the Philippine News Explorer Tabloid. I also put it on Motorcycle Philippines because the statistics help riders reduce the opposition from their families.

I think the writer of that article should reflect on his own driving habits. It is difficult to "drive properly" here in the Philippines when everyone drives the way they do here. I have driven both 4 and 2 wheels in the U.S., U.K., and Hong Kong for the most part of my 22 year driving life and I can tell you that driving or riding in the manner you would normally drive in these countries here in the Philippines will give you the creeps. This is because you are not in sync with the flow of traffic. Motorcyclists here just ride with the flow and the way they ride actually reduces traffic. If they were to ride as the writer implied, we would have serious traffic congestion problems.

Jumbing,

I agree with this wholeheartdly. Although I have not seen many motercycles running reds as suggested by a previous writer. I wouldnt rate their chances of survival if they did that in the PI. The problems here are the "rolling coffins" speeding along the Skyway and other roads, and the 4WD bulley boys. In fact I should not site the 4WD, just the bulley boys. They are the real culprits. Most casual motorcyclists behave reasonably well. They have to, their life depends on that.