My own silver lining amid the pandemic
I also observed that vehicle volume is really a challenge pre-pandemic The spread of the deadly respiratory disease has almost paralyzed the entire global community
There’s no doubt about it: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has turned the world topsy-turvy.
The spread of the deadly respiratory disease has almost paralyzed the entire global community especially in its early days of detection, spreading fear, panic and uncertainty before governments of the world have come up with measures to contain the disease.
In the Philippines, the government has tried to curb the spread of COVID-19 by imposing lockdowns in parts of the country where the virus is proliferating and sadly, it has adversely affected the lives of Filipinos especially on their livelihood.
Among the measures put in place is the enhanced community quarantines — regarded as the longest lockdown in the world — which prohibited public transportation and other mass transport services from operating.
That posed a huge problem, especially for me as I needed to still be in the office to continue working as we are still part of the “essential” workers who secured permits to travel.
Fortunately for me, I had a trusty 2008 Toyota Vios owned by my sister-in-law as a solution on how to continue to travel to work and frankly speaking, driving on roads where community lockdowns are in place had become a welcome development.
Honestly speaking, I prefer travelling by public transport as it enables me to sleep while on the road – a luxury I had to sacrifice as I needed to drive myself to work in the last three months due to the pandemic.
But it’s not as bad as it seems, since there are less vehicles plying the road, I was able to – as they say – cruise my way through the long and winding roads of Imus, Cavite going to Makati. And as I go on my way, I can’t help but think that the only time I was able to drive as fast as I can (and as the law permits, mind you… I am still a law-abiding citizen) was during Lenten season, where EDSA was virtually a playground.
The only traffic jam to be expected is at quarantine checkpoints situated in different parts of Aguinaldo Highway and at Buendia in Makati City, but it’s a lot less stressing than to be stuck in a two-hour logjam under the blistering heat of the sun.
During those months when I was driving “leisurely” on my way to work, I also observed that vehicle volume is really a challenge pre-pandemic, as one can see all kinds of vehicles —
jeepneys, buses, trucks, SUV, UV Expresses, compact cars and if lucky, a luxury sports car or two — plying the roads which causes a massive jam before the pandemic.
Now, all I had observed was container trucks, delivery vans and a handful of private cars with labels on their windshields, such as: “health worker (do not delay),” “food delivery,” “eggs delivery,” “alcohol delivery,” “fresh foods (do not delay)” and other signs that have become a normal sight to behold.
Of course, I sometimes indulge myself to gear up the faded Vios during my drives at Cavitex and go up to at least more than 100 kilometers per hour, which always brings me back to the time when I pitted (or should I say challenged) my 1.3-liter DOHC inline-four with VVTi Vios against a Maserati Quattroporte 2020 S in Daang Hari — but that’s another story.
But however the pandemic has affected everyone, I cannot deny in my heart that the lockdowns due to COVID-19 has made me realize that once everything is over and a cure is found, I will resort back to sleeping soundly inside a bus than to go back stuck in hours and hours of traffic jams along with thousands of others.