Traffic Courtesy, Rude Behavior, Criminality, and I Park Like an Idiot Bacolod

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I am a member of this popular group now on Facebook called I Park Like an Idiot Bacolod. The members, as far as I know, are from Bacolod or neighboring cities in Negros Occidental. They post pictures of cars illegally parked or were parked without consideration to others that they happened to pass by.

The word “idiot” can be harsh to some, but hey, that was already the name when the group was started and it kept growing. So while others cannot accept the word, they have to accept the fact that the group is highly regarded. And well, they can just very well leave if they can’t take it. Talking to some people I know who are members there, it made them more careful with how they park because they don’t want a photo of their car ending up on the page. So the purpose of the group is actually quite nice.

Now some of the posts are entertaining or amusing, while some have become quite boring (e.g. like the stepping over parking lot guide lines). They are just too commonplace already. I usually just skip that. But sometimes, things get really interesting. Today, I chanced upon a post by Ms. Dominique Yra Saquibal‎. Early this morning, she passed by La Salle Avenue and even at that hour, the traffic of vehicles on that road was already incorrigible. That is not surprising because aside from the University of St. La Salle, there is L’Ecole, St. Scholastica’s Academy, and two other private preschools located on the exact same road. When she got to the area across the first gate of USLS, the car in front of her reportedly stopped and the lady driver went down, took her daughter, and crossed the street to drop off her child at L’Ecole. Ms. Saquibal reportedly shouted to the other lady driver in the midst of the noisy jam to park her car properly and the other person only shouted back “Hulat da! (Wait!)” But instead of hurrying back, Ms. Saquibal recounted that the other driver went back only after a good 15 minutes and it was already crazy chaotic because the other drivers were also honking their horns. Here is the photo below of the incident. I blurred the other car’s license plate because I wouldn’t want her to be trolled either. That is not the purpose of this article.

Photo by Dominique Yra Saquibal‎. Published with permission. Blurring of plate number mine.

My point here is that the lady driver in the other car was in luck. Despite being so pissed, the drivers of the other cars did not go out and do anything bad to her car. In the group page, other people were talking really bad about her, suggesting her car should have been vandalized or her tires tampered with. And if indeed her car was harmed, I bet that bystanders would just say, “Serves you right for being inconsiderate.” This is a harsh world.

For me, that lady driver did a number of wrong things. Number one, nobody parks in the middle of the road unless your car just suddenly had a break down. And even if it did, you find somebody to help you bring your car to the side of the road so that your car doesn’t hinder the flow of traffic. Two, she did it in the middle of a very busy school street during the early morning rush hour when people go to school or bring their kids to school. Three, she endangered herself and her daughter when she jumped off the car in the middle of a busy street. Four, instead of being remorseful, she maintained the stance of being right as she demanded for the other driver who reprimanded her to wait. Five, instead of coming back as soon as possible, she took too long to come back, thereby holding up the traffic for too long. I believe that we only hold traffic like that for heads of state where security is a big concern, which I believe she is not.

Here we learn that not everyone who can afford a car and can pay for a driver’s license is good enough to be on the road. Granting that we are not perfect people and there will always be lapses, an apology or a kind word will surely assuage the situation. But being wrong and adamant at the same time–well, that will surely spark trouble.

The driver of that car should really be careful. While we live in Bacolod where people are generally peaceful, that may not always be the case. In Manila, we are aware of news items where people kill for much lesser traffic inconveniences. I really hope that she does not pull that stunt anymore, not only out of kindness and consideration to others, but also for her own safety and that of her daughter’s. Be warned.

If you were the driver of the car behind that lady driver, what would you actually do? How do you feel about this?

6 thoughts on “Traffic Courtesy, Rude Behavior, Criminality, and I Park Like an Idiot Bacolod

  1. Actually all your acquisitions against her is one sided. You didnt know the whole story or even the true story behind it. All you hear and see is as per ms. Saquibal’s pictures and story which you then concluded that it really happened. All you guys are not thinking if it is real or is it just a make up story. pls just open your mind to more understanding on which this situation happened.. Not just thinking that she made it just for nothing. i know she wrongly park her car but pls also see why ms. Saquibal is there also in that area..i know she park also her car there and she also not aware that it is a no parking zone in that area. And some witnesses said she didnt park for 15 mins. I know that area is a a place were the parents drop off there kids at school(lecole) and all are doing that quick park in front of the skul in lecole.if you have problem about the parking there in that area pls forward it to our local government, not just making some stupid news are post in a social media. mistakes are made to be corrected not insulted. and for ms. Saquibal pls be careful of your actions sometimes karma is just around you.

    1. Hi! Thank you for your reply Ms. concern bacolodnon. But I would really appreciate it if you could read and understand the article first. 😀 Thanks for the visit.

      1. I understand your article sir but your the one you dont undstand it. its all one sided and your posting this news claiming that the lady with the silver car has the problem. Yes she does have some fault also but can you pls ask your friend ms. Saquibal if she is in the ryt place to accuse the lady Cause i think she is also parked in that place not only that lady. And i dont understand why you are hearing only one side of the story. Are u sure the story is true? Are u there in the tym of the incident? If not, well im sure i was one of the witnesses there in that incident and i found the details irrelevent than to her make up stories.. Nugay lang daun commento kng wala ka kabalo sng storya. Kng sa bagay kmu nga mga media dont care if its true or not. Anyway GOD knows the truth. Im just concerned about the lady that was bashed with out knowing the true story because it was sided by false acquisitions and exaggerated stories. Of course she will not tell in her post that she is also parked that time in front of lecole (and she didnt wait for 15 mins)becoz she dont want to be bashed on her own post. mga tawo man abi sagad reklamo nga cla gli sala man. Well its not fair to be bashed saying some cruel some things in social media. She has to worth that bashes not the lady. I just hate reading this article because its so judgemental. You didnt know the person either so why make comments on her? cyber crime is now implemented. So watch out for all your doings in internet.Ipa ubaya ko nlg kmu sa kay GOD. THANKS

        1. Thank you for replying Ms. concern bacolodnon. You are so right that I wasn’t there and this article only shows the side of Ms. Saquibal. Let me point out to you many things:

          1. My being not there is the reason why I used the word “reportedly” several times in the article–mainly because that this is the story of Ms. Saquibal. That is her reporting not mine. While it would be nice to include the other driver’s side, she is not a member of the group and nobody seemed to know her from the group either so I had no way of reaching her.

          2. This story was originally published in the Facebook group IPLAIB and I just asked permission from the original owner to publish it in my blog. I suggest that you look this group up and join it. You will find it informative and amusing and how people can get judgmental and violent, too. But this post if far from violent.

          3. This is not a news article but rather an opinion. I am stating my opinion based on the news presented to me. While you are right that the news told to me was one-sided, I am telling this opinionated story to remind people to be level-headed on the road –not to bash the other driver. I am concerned because in Manila, people kill for less. I wouldn’t want that to happen on the streets of Bacolod–where people would shoot or maul each other for some petty traffic skirmishes. Thankfully, as far as I know, nobody has not done it yet. So even if I know the other lady’s story and present it here, my opinion on the matter (not about her) still remains the same–that people should be more careful and level-headed when driving. We don’t want our kids orphaned just because of some petty problems on the road.

          4. I am not bashing the owner of the silver car. In fact, I blurred her license plate because I don’t want her to be trolled by internet haters. I know how people can “hate” without understanding the whole story. I am, in fact, protecting her because reading the comments on the post in the page, they were scary. That’s why I said “be warned” because others are willing to inflict damage. I repeat, this is not to bash her. I just used the story as an example.

          5. Thank you for coming in her defense. You mentioned to me that you were there when this happened. Would you happen to know the other lady? Can you hook us up? Or better yet, are you willing to meet with me to tell me your eyewitness account and share your story to me?

          Thank you for your concern and your reply. I am not sure if you have read that my article continues after the photo. You are also bashing me, by the way, because of your comments. But unlike you, this blog has a name. Your comment is anonymous. So before you hate me, please think about that, too. I know that this story may be one-side. But that is not the point. My point is that people should be kinder on the road and be more considerate to others in order to avoid problems. This is not a court and I am not a judge. This is just a reminder, not a court resolution. God bless you, too.

    2. Ms. Concern Bacolodnon, I am now curious about what really happened. Can you tell us the real story but i hope not as one sided as you claim Ms. Saquibal is?

      But then let’s say the lady driver did not stay for 15mins. Let’s just suppose she stayed for only 1 minute. 1 minute is already too long to stay in the middle of a busy street. I can see from the picture that a car can almost still pass through the right side of the silver car. So that means if the car was parked properly, then the traffic would have kept moving for an additional 1 minute. If Ms. Saquibal’s story is indeed not true, i am expecting to hear the defense say that the driver of the silver car did not leave her car behind. For that would be the big part that would discredit the whole story. The details can be considered negligible because the point is the driver left the car in the middle of the road whether 1 minute or 15 minutes. And even just 1 minute is too long. But by the looks of it, the distance of the car all the way to the gate, will probably take 3-7 from the car and back.

      I used to bring my child to school at a busy street. When I could not let my 4 year old get off the car by herself and i could not get off the car without holding up the traffic, i would have to park properly at a distance so that i could safely accompany my child all the way to the gate of the school. A bit inconvenient, but that is the proper and courteous way to do it.

      While i understand your desire that this story should be accurate, let the writer challenge us to observe road courtesy that is very much absent in many of the drivers in Bacolod. Because that is the main purpose of the article.

      1. Yes, this is a very curious thing is. Many different sides. But I agree with you that indeed, the best thing to do is park a safe distance and bring your child inside the school. It may inconvenience you, but at least you do not inconvenience the rest of the motorists who are affected by the way you park.

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