American in Davao

In the past I have written about driving here in the Philippines. Driving here makes New York taxi drivers look like little old ladies in an Edsel.

Well there is something new to comment about and that is Motorcycle Drivers here. I think they feel they are immortal. They drive any place they think they can fit even if at high speeds. They weave around traffic, drive between moving cars, on the right side, the left side and if there is no place, they move over to the incoming traffic lanes.

My house is on a main road with a lot of traffic. Also the house is just past a curve. A little over a month ago, I was coming home and at the house. Elena had opened the gate. As I waited for oncoming traffic to let me in there were cars backed up behind me. Finally an opening in the traffic and I started my turn. As I was almost at the gate when I feel a shock and hear a crash. Some guy on a motorcycle from around the blind curve moved over to the oncoming lane, gunned his gas and crashed into the driver’s door of my car.
I looked out and see a motorcycle and driver spread out on the ground. I jumped out and asked if he was ok. I got no response so I called out to Elena to call 911. The driver then got up and said “No 911 please”.

We moved his motorcycle into our yard and then I moved my car out of traffic. The driver luckily just banged up a finger and scraped one foot a little. Even though he was very shaken up. We gave him some water to drink and ice for his finger.

It turned out he has a “Professional” drivers license and drives for a family here in Davao. He did not want 911 called because he could loose his license and then would be out of a job.

I told him how he is going to pay for my damages. He told me he would leave his motorcycle and registration at my house for collateral. The next day we went to the dealership to get an estimate of the repairs. When I bought the car, there was a promo that I got one year's insurance with the purchase. I thought it would just be liability insurance, not full coverage. I was wrong, I had total coverage. The service writer said that all would be covered and there was a 10,000 peso deductible. She also said she could not order the parts, one being a new door, until the deductible was paid. I was in a dilemma if I should pay it and wait for the driver to reimburse me. Well, 2 days later, a Saturday, he called to tell us he would have the money by Monday.

Monday, after we got the call that the deductible was paid, we went back to write up all the damages and what was needed. The service writer noticed other scratches and dings around the car and would have it all taken car of and it will be covered by the insurance.

Then the wait started. I was told to take care home and use it since it could take about 3 weeks for the parts to come from Manila. I was thankful that even though the door was badly dented the window still worked.
Well last week we got the call that the parts were in and to get the car washed first before bringing it is so they can note all the places that need to be fixed. While we were looking at the car, I asked the service writer if she could trim the tinting on the front windshield and partway on the front side windows. This is because when I first got the car I was advised it would be a good idea to have the windows tinted. This is because being a “Foreigner” it is better if people cannot see in. Well I had dark tinting on the rear and sides and a medium tint on the windshield. Even with the medium tint, at night it is hard to see people or vehicles without lights on. Also at night I usually drove with the side windows open to see the mirrors.

The service writer showed me a tint that is like a mirror to the outside and clear from the inside both day and night. I asked her how much that would cost me and she said she would have it covered with the insurance.

Well, now it is taxis to and from work. It isn’t too bad except I do not come home for lunch. It is also good since the cost of gasoline here keeps going up. Regular Unleaded is now at 49.53 pesos per liter which is $4.44 per gallon.

To save money for lunch I also go to one of the Carendaria’s with some of my coworkers. A Carendaria is a little open air restaurant. There are many along most main roads. The one we go to has about 5 tables, plastic stools to sit on and they have about 8 different items to choose from. There are 2 vegetable dishes, some pork, chicken and beef. With it you get a plate of rice and a bowl of soup broth. The quantity is not large but it is enough for me. A vegetable dish is 16 pesos ( 16 cents) and a meat dish is 21 pesos (50 cents). A few of us usually share a liter of coke for 5 pesos each.

So, I am now saving money on gas and food. The bad part is not seeing Elena until the evening, but that is how life would have been in the states.

I received from a comment from one of Mia asking if I have driven here in Davao I decided to add to the last article from my view.

When I moved here my fiancée Elena told me I must have a car. I would have been happy just riding Jeepneys and taxis. It would probably been cheaper too.

Recently gasoline came down in price to 44.40 pesos per liter which is $4.19 per gallon. Also with all the traffic even my little Kia only gets about 20 miles per gallon.

Some of the main roads are in such a condition you wonder if you have a low or flat tire. Off the main roads you will find much worse conditions too.

Where we live we are on a dirt road. When not raining the car every morning is covered in dust. When raining there is mud pools, some so big it would make a pig squeal in excitement.

There are also roads that once were concrete but now just broken pieces in all different angles.
To driving here, there is very little driver courtesy. Being a good driver from America, I have the habit of staying in the right lane except for passing. Here the right lane is constantly stopping for a Jeepney letting off or taking on passengers. If in left lane you get stopped when a driver needs to turn left.

If you need to change lanes not many drivers will slow down to let you in. Same if you’re trying to turn onto a main road. You need to nose your way in carefully and hope someone stops to let you in. It is especially difficult if you need to make a left turn onto a main 4 lane road.

In America when there is traffic trying to merge into another road, they do what is called “weaving.” That is when the drivers alternate letting cars merge. One merges then one going straight goes and so on and so on. Not here, once one goes, all the cars behind them follows through. The same is at an intersection, once on forces his way in, all the traffic behind follows, then as the last car makes the turn, any cars wanting to turn from the oncoming traffic squeezes in and all of them make their turn.

If you come to a major intersection and there is a left turn lane with a working traffic light, the turning lane here is used as an extra lane to wait to go straight once the light turns green.

If there is a big backup of traffic, usually seen Sundays when people are getting off or on Jeepneys at Church, the drivers take over the left lane of oncoming traffic. That then causes a backup from the other direction waiting for the drivers to get back over after the tie-up.

There are also bicycles with some kind of wheeled storage on the front, some are for small deliveries, some selling ice cream and some that go around picking up recycle items. These can be found peddling down the main road slowing traffic.

Surprisingly there are not a lot of accidents, but if there is one, or there is a disabled car with a flat tire or engine trouble, the backup will be for miles or kilometers.

Some major intersections have traffic cops directing traffic, but most are ignored and they end up causing gridlock.

There are also vehicles still using leaded gasoline here and also there is emission test centers but I do not know who gets tested and if there is any forced repairs since you see many vehicles sending out plumes of black smoke.

Good thing I have air conditioning in the car because the smell of exhaust is so bad your eyes will burn. Now I know why so many pass away here with respiratory problems.

Parking is hard here except malls some businesses parking slots in front of their business and have uniformed guard’s. They will try to stop traffic to help a customer back out of the slot into traffic.

So to paraphrase an old saying “Driving here is not a chore, it is an Adventure”

In an earlier post I wrote about the crazy driving here in Davao, but there is so much to say. I could write something every day and still find more to write about, but you all would get bored.

Driving here is a crazy adventure. First of all there are many Jeepneys, MultiCabs, MotorCabs, Pedicabs, private cars and motorcycles that the traffic congestion looks worse than the Los Angeles Freeways during rush hour.



Entering a main road is like a roll of the dice. There is very little driver courtesy. What you have to do is inch into traffic until an oncoming driver realizes either let you in or have an accident.

Everyone tries to ride on the left of a 2 lane road since Jeepneys and other public transports keep stopping on the right lane to take on or let off passengers. If you by chance switch to the right to pass a few cars and get stuck behind a stopping Jeepney, you might have to wait for him to move again since nobody will let you back into the left. If both lanes are stopped due to congestion, watch out for the space between the cars because some driver will try to make it 3 lanes. Then if there is no oncoming traffic, a lot of drivers will drive on the oncoming left lane.

There are traffic cops at some major intersections, but they will stop oncoming traffic next to an intersection, but let’s and waves on the left turning traffic and the through traffic too.

People on bicycles drive in the center next to oncoming traffic to avoid the stopping jeepneys. Motorcycles will drive everywhere except the sidewalks.

For a while the city has been installing traffic lights on major intersections but has yet to power most up. They have also added turning lanes. The problem with the turning lanes is they have not widened the roads; they made the other lanes narrower. A left turn lane is used for a 3rd lane and then they all squeeze back and fight for a space as they pass the intersection.

I am very surprised on how few traffic accidents there are here. Oh yes, there are accidents but with all the traffic and weaving back and forth there should be many every day. Well thank GOD there isn’t since an accident adds more congestion to an already congested city.

With all said, traffic here is wonderful compared to Manila. There it is 10 times worse.

I heard a funny story. A Filipino taxi driver moved to the US. He went to get his driver’s license and failed the driving test 7 times. So he moved back to the Philippines.

Driving here in the Philippines is an experience that can only be closely compared to New York and their taxi drivers.