Let’s adopt best practices (2)

MANY people are aware that most of our officials have gone abroad and seen how things work there efficiently.

If they have never been abroad, then we are in deep sh.t. Maybe, this new factotum has yet to know that the world has left the Philippines behind and people like him are the likely cause of our troubles.

As I always say, we need not reinvent the wheel. All the new appointee has to do is observe what is called “best practices,” abroad and at least imitate or adopt what is workable in our particular environment.

All taxis and cars around the globe have the GPS on the dashboard. And, as in Singapore, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere, this practice has been proven to work and they have been used to the idea and have adapted to it.

Here, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) has a revised set of implementing rules and regulations for the Anti-Distracted Driving Act (ADDA), with a new provision on the “safe zone,” where dashcams or cellular phone placements are allowed.

I have no objection to it and my only concern is the saliva wasted and frayed nerves triggered by the previous ADDA brouhaha.

After Thomas Orbos, we now have Brig. Gen. (ret.) Danilo Lim as the new Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman.

Orbos said he was not able to solve the vexing traffic congestion problem, although he knew the solution. He said the solution is “a political decision.”

He is aware that one of the best solutions to avoid congestion during peak traffic hours is to adopt what is called the Congestion Charge. This is a practice in the United Kingdom and Singapore. Jakarta and Bangkok and Hong Kong have a congestion problem as well, but they are able to address it because of the efficient rail system.

The Congestion Charge is a fine for driving a vehicle within the charging zone, usually in early morning or early evening, depending on the locality.

Here, we have adopted the number coding scheme or the no-window-hours policy which only exacerbate our congestion dilemma because many families simply bought second cars, adding to an already crowded street.