A CAR fell from the fifth floor of a condominium in the metropolis, killing a woman and injuring two others; then a public-utility bus almost turned turtle at the Alabang Skyway, injuring 40 passengers, four of them seriously.
Both accidents occurred during the weekend, not to mention another vehicle falling off a ravine in Benguet province that killed one and injured another.
How a car can plunge from a fifth floor, the police did not say.
But the bus accident in Alabang happened because the vehicle lost its brakes, according to its driver.
The Benguet crash was an obvious result of miscalculation by the driver. And there was yet another road accident in the city last weekend, when a long truck fell off a bridge, and into a house, killing two persons resting inside the shack.
Again, failure of brakes was the culprit, the driver said.
Still remember that cement mixer that plowed into a divider-island on Visayas Avenue, Quezon, City before it crashed onto a car with an entire family aboard, killing the father?
Indeed, it is not only the horrendous traffic in the city that has become almost a daily dose of irritation for us hapless motorists, but also vehicular accidents occurring almost in monotonous, grisly, regularity. About time our lawmakers buckled down to work and implement stricter measures in handing out licenses to prospective drivers.
License over life? Or, life over license?
Your move, your honors.
Driverless buses
TAIWAN, with a population of 23.5 million, is targeting a driverless bus within a year.
Already, it has been busy testing an electric, driverless bus at a speed of 6 miles per hour, and that could fit in only 12 passengers.
Made in France at a cost of $550,000, the bus is nearly twice the price of a larger bus with a driver. It uses GPS and eight laser sensors to navigate predetermined routes. Front and rear-end cameras enable it to detect and avoid obstacles.
While the Tesla’s Autopilot system is “only” Level 2, the EZ10 of France being acquired by Taiwan is Level 4, meaning its route is chosen by humans but there is no one behind the wheel. In an interview by the New York Times News Service, Martin Ting of the Taiwanese company testing the EZ10 buses said the bus was suited for three scenarios: closed campuses, short and fixed circuits and city-bus routes.
It is almost perfectly suited for Taiwan, which has 150 universities and colleges, 100-plus industrial parks and 15 theme parks.
“After we’ve started supplying Taiwan, we’re going to sell to Japan, Australia, China and South Asia,” Ting said. “Australia already wants 100 vehicles and Japan has strong demand before the 2020 Olympics Games.”
With bus/truck accidents hitting us in wild abandon, isn’t it also time to give the driverless bus a try?
P2P now at Clark-Edsa-Naia
FIRST, the P2P (point-to-point) service was from TriNoma on North Avenue in Quezon City to Ayala-Glorietta in Makati City and back.
Just very recently, it became available from Clark Airport to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) and back, and Clark-North Edsa and back, thanks mainly to Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade’s pioneering efforts to link the two international gateways for the comfort of all.
In so doing, Tugade ended a 20-year lull to the P2P’s design to grant provincial bus franchises. He directed the LTFRB to select strategically located end-to-end points for Clark-Naia and Clark-North Edsa, bringing smooth, air-conditioned bus trips for travel-weary folk finally a reality.
For the record, Genesis Transport won the bidding, and it now has 48 bus franchises operating at 30 minutes to one hour intervals.
To the uninitiated, the P2P is a public bus system that transports passengers in a nonstop ride from Quezon City to Makati and back, ensuring ultimate convenience and comfort during the trip.
If you come with your car, you can park at TriNoma, Quezon City, and then ride the P2P bus to Makati at a very reasonable price.
Very convenient, indeed, especially so that the parking fee at Trinoma is at a flat rate P50.
Rely Jalbuna of Genesis Transport said “This is a bus run [Clark to Naia and TriNoma] of many firsts and which will virtually make history in the context of the country’s land-transport service.”
New Civic
HONDA’S All-New Civic Type R model, according to the company’s drumbeaters, features the purity of its original concept of minimizing weight while maximizing power at the same time. It has maintained its philosophy of a racing-inspired engine.
It packs a 2.0-liter VTEC turbo, with 310 PS at 6,500 rpm and 400 N-m of torque from 2,500 rpm to 4,500 rpm, a six-speed manual transmission with rev match control system, an aerodynamic body, and a sporty yet practical interior.
Just two days after the announcement of its release on July 10, all 100 units were booked and reserved.
The next deliveries are due in early-2018. Visit www.hondaphil.com for more details.
PEE STOP We are now into the second month of the “ber” months with the onset of October. Christmas is less than 80 days away and Toyota has already a vise-grip on the top spot of the sales charts for the year. And if Toyota should emerge the runaway leader again in passenger, CVs and overall sales data by year-end, no one is least surprised. As early as the midterm, Toyota’s market share is so huge the final tabulation of results is but a question of formality.