Let’s look again at the four traffic elements

these four traffic elements are education, enforcement, engineering and economics. Unless these elements are addressed simultaneously, traffic will get worse every day.

For instance, of the 11.5 million vehicles registered throughout the country, more than 3 million are being driven at any given time in Metro Manila and nearby provinces of Laguna, Rizal, Cavite and Bulacan.

In addition, we have more than 6 million registered motorcycles and tricycles, and many of these are also in the areas mentioned above.

On the issue of education, how many of these drivers understand the meaning of broken lines, solid lines, double solid lines and other traffic signs?

“Roughly one-third of the drivers do not understand most of the above,” said a Metropolitan Manila traffic law enforcer interviewed by this writer.

“This is because many of these drivers do not go through the

normal process of taking the written exam and the actual driving test required by law,” he said, adding that what these drivers do is buy their licenses from fixers who have connections with unscrupulous Land Transportation Office officers.

Related to the above is the issue of lack of enforcement not only of the country’s traffic rules and regulations but also the inability of authorities to strictly implement the anti-colorum laws, road safety, road courtesy, wayward pedestrians, undisciplined cyclists and motorcycle drivers.

Equally important to look into is engineering: Metro Manila, for instance, has approximately a road network of 5,000 kilometers, minus 1,000 that are under repair, flooded, or occupied and blocked by squatters and therefore, impassable.

Using these road variables for the 3 million vehicles, it means that there are 220 vehicles (at a median size of 4.5 meters per vehicle) for every kilometer, which is four and a half times as many as the 45 per-kilometer-ratio of the United Nations, using South Korea as the model country.

Our policy-makers should look into why there’s a continuing importation of second-hand motor engines of various sizes, second-hand vehicles, and the nonenforcement of the 15-year phase-out period for old and dilapidated vehicles, trucks and trailers.

Because traffic has a correlation to the economic life of the nation, it is important to have a closer look at the implication of traffic to the economy.

Traffic has long been a problem in Metro Manila, and it’s costing the country heavily.

The gridlocks turn investors away and a study shows the Philippines loses P2.4 billion a day in potential income from the traffic jams in Metro Manila alone.

This includes lost work hours, lost business opportunities due to delays, missed deadlines and wasted fuel.

The losses add up to P576 billion a year just for the economic cost of traffic on weekdays. That’s more than the P400 billion infrastructure budget for 2020.

By 2030, the Philippines stands to lose P6 billion a day as more traffic means longer time on the roads, more pollution generated and more greenhouse gas emitted.

A study done by Expert University of the Philippines Professor Jose Regin Regidor pointed out the social and psychological costs that are hard to translate into money terms.

For example, a parent, instead of being at home to take care of the children, ends up being stuck in traffic. Although that’s hard to quantify in money terms, the study tries to put monetary values so people will see that this is the amount they are losing everyday.

The government says its road projects will solve traffic and help the Philippines achieve this administration’s catchphrase: inclusive growth.

But how inclusive are projects intended for road users?

For Regidor, inclusivity also means making reliable public transportation a priority.

Regidor says it’s time that the government spends more on masstransit systems to decongest a bursting mega city.

Officials say it’s a case of delayed gratification: suffer now, enjoy later.

But that’s assuming population and vehicle density stays the same until 2020 and beyond.

To reach the writer, e-mail cecilio.arillo@ gmail.com.