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Traffic was crawling along the northbound side of EDSA the other day, and I was driving at the innermost (left) lane, turning toward the Estrella Flyover. Just before turning left to the flyover (going to Rockwell), I noticed that there were several street kids on the center island. As traffic started moving, a couple of the kids started moving toward the center of the road. I wondered what they were up to. Were they going to ask for alms? Were they just going to play a dangerous round of patintero with moving vehicles?

Turns out they were up to something more mischievous.

One of the kids suddenly pulled open the passenger-side door of the taxi cab in front of me. He pulled it with so much force that the door went fully open and almost hit a Honda Jazz to the right of the cab. The kids then ran back to the center island, seeming happy with their deed.

This brought back old tales of goons forcing open unlocked doors while in traffic or at stoplights. My dad once told me some men tried to force open his doors along Kamias Ave. (which is near my neighborhood).

So here’s a reminder to all motorists. Keep your doors locked. If you have a car with power/centralized locks, make it a habit to do a tactile check every so often. I click the “lock” button on my armrest several times during a trip; that’s how OC I am. Or, make it a habit to ask all your passengers if their doors are locked. This could save you a lot of trouble from potential incidents like the one I witnessed.

If you’re riding as a passenger, then make sure all the doors are locked, too. This is especially important when riding taxi cabs. For one, most cabbies are too lazy to lock their doors. Most cabs don’t have power locks, and unlocked doors make it easier for them to pick up passengers. Secondly, having unlocked taxi doors can add to the risk of being held up by robbers in cahoots with bad cabbies.

Again–lock your doors. Best to keep your windows closed, too, especially in traffic. Weather in our country is often hot, anyway.

Image credit: flickr/lobsterstew

As a car owner, finding out your average gas mileage will benefit you in many ways. It will, first of all, aid you in budgeting how much you’d want to spend for gas over the course of a week or a certain period of time. Besides that, it will help you alter your manner of driving as to not waste too much gas. So take the time to learn this particular subject.

Figuring out your car’s gas mileage is easier than it sounds. Some newer cars will have multi-information displays that automatically tell you your current mileage. Not all cars have this feature, though, so you will need to learn how to do it manually.

Follow these six easy steps. You may need a calculator, pen and paper, or you may calculate mentally.

1. Fill up your gas tank until it is full or until the fuel pump stops automatically. Take note of the number of kilometers currently displayed on your odometer.
2. Keep track of how many KMs you have driven until the next time you fill up your tank with gas. To do that, simply subtract the number of kilometers you had when you filled up your tank from the number of KMs displayed this next fill up. For example, your mileage was 10,000 on your first fill up, then 10,200 on your next. Therefore, it should be computed like this: 10,200 – 10,000 = 200. The total number of KM you have driven is 200.
3. Gas up and take note of how many liters of gasoline you have bought. Then the total number of kilometers should be divided by the amount of gasoline you purchased. For example, 200 KM / 20 liters = 10 kilometers per liter or KPL.
4. It is ideal to do this counting on a long road trip since you will be traveling continuously and it will get your mileage to easily increase as opposed to driving short, separate trips within your town or city.
5. Repeating this over a period of a couple of weeks will help you garner an average over this span of time.
6. Take several measures to efficiently make use of gas—several measures, such as, obeying speed limits.

Note that you can also reset your trip meter to zero to help you count the number of kilometers you travelled. This will be more accurate, since the trip meter counts to the nearest 100 meters, while the odometer will only count to the nearest kilometer.

Doing this is not just another one of those difficult math problems that you have to solve for over an hour. Although getting the variables take quite long, solving it is as easy as counting 1-3, especially with the help of a calculator.

It is important to be familiar with such a seemingly petty issue such as this—finding out your gas mileage. This may seem insignificant at first but in the long run, it will be of good use to you. Not only will it make an impact on the way you handle your car but it may also unknowingly help you in taking better care of it and encourage you to obey traffic laws. So go grab a pen and a piece of paper and get driving and solving now!

Image credit.

A few Saturdays back, I was IM’d by my mother that their driver was involved in an accident. After bringing my father to the airport for an early morning flight, he was driving northbound along C-5 when he fell asleep on the wheel. The family AUV hit a Pasig city lamppost. Lamppost was uprooted from its base. Car’s hood was wrecked (along with some internal damages).

Unbeknownst to the family, the driver was also moonlighting as a tricycle driver during nighttimes and finished his shift at 3 a.m. that morning. To add to the injury, the driver wasn’t wearing his seatbelt, and hit the windshield with his head. Good thing he did not sustain major injuries (or so we hope).

Much of the day was spent talking to–and waiting for–police officers and city hall officials. We did not know about the extent of the damage until later that day, when we visited the car at the impounding area.

Lesson learned from this incident: don’t drive when you are sleepy. Sleepiness impairs your judgement and reflex/reaction time. You can also experience bouts of “micro sleep” in which your eyes are open, but your brain falls asleep for a fraction of a second to a few seconds. A lot can happen during this time, especially when you are on the road.

Much of the damage will be shouldered by insurance (payment to the city government for property damage, and car repairs), except the participation fee, towing fees and impounding fees (the car was no longer running). But accidents like this cause hassles and inconvenience to a lot of people. If there is bodily injury, then that’s even worse.

Again, if you feel sleepy, pull over to the side of the road and take a few minutes’ rest. If you can alternate with another driver, then that’s better. You can even stop over at a gas station and grab a coffee or an energy drink. Even a small snack can help keep you awake.

I’m in the market for a new(er) car these days but with the slew of Ondoyed vehicles, you can’t be too sure which ones in the second-hand market safe(r) to buy. I might violate my personal finance rule of never buying a brand new car since the depreciation alone in the first year is devastating.

I just find it funny that many cars posted online don’t seem to bear the rightful price for the vehicle. Why is it that an 18-year old two-door Civic still sells for Php 160k to 200k. I’ve seen ’93 Corollas still sell for 150k while their fair depreciated value would only be around 80k, perhaps 100k tops if it’s still well-maintained and bears low-mileage for its age.

Some would cite the number of modifications they’ve done to the car as the reason for the high pricing. Sure, modifications do cost money. An engine swap alone can set one back as much as 60k. However, modified cars, unless they’re modded by experts and if the owner keeps meticulous records, are migraines waiting to happen than prize catches.

You might be lucky if you find someone selling his modded car that’s only been used for “pang-porma” but chances are, the owner would probably have redlined it once or twice. As far as my experience goes, it’s always better to go with an all-stock car.

Still, it’s a challenge to find a second-hand car that’s been pretty well-maintained by the previous owner. I just can’t believe the prices that many sellers still set for their cars. I refuse to believe that cars have stopped depreciating since three years ago. Cars depreciate, you know.

Over the weekend, I brought the family on a road trip out of town to check out a piece of land we were planning to develop. I was able to find the place on Google Maps, and I’ve been checking out possible routes. I planned to use the mobile Google Maps application with my Smartphone’s GPS, since I’ve already tried it within the city and it worked like a charm.

I learned that traveling outside of Manila, Google Maps worked like a charm, too. When I first got to know Google Maps about four or five years back, it only had some satellite imagery of the Metro areas. Now it has street data, establishments, and even user-inputted information.

If your phone is GPS-enabled, Google Maps will track your direction and movement, as long as you have GPS satellites within line of sight.

What’s great is that some network providers (like Smart) have unlimited 3G plans even on prepaid. So traveling all day shouldn’t be a problem. You would just need to be sure you have a decent signal (both GPS and 3G), and enough battery charge (or that you can plug in your mobile phone with a car charger).

We only missed one turn, because I was having connection problems at that time. We also encountered a one-way street. If only Google Maps had traffic information, life would’ve been easier. But still, we were able to navigate through the place without having to ask for directions. One of my kids had fun watching the blue blip travel through the lines representing the roads, and approach the star (since I previously starred the exact point we were supposed to visit). The application even knows the direction you’re traveling toward, since the blip is actually an arrow!

So the PROs of this are:

- It’s cheap
- It’s fast if you’re traveling in 3G-enabled locations
- It’s handheld (you can use it while walking)
- It’s pretty accurate!

As for CONs, I could think of a few:

- Small screen (would depend on your Smartphone)
- You need to set up your phone before your trip, to make sure it works
- No traffic data
- No directions

Perhaps if Google were to add more layers of information, particularly traffic and directions, Google Maps would be a viable alternative to those expensive navigation systems offered by auto dealerships.

One thing I learned in my years of driving and being a car owner is that dealing with the Land Transportation Office can be a pain. This is especially so during those times in the year you have to renew your driver’s license and your motor vehicle registration. It’s not too difficult to determine the schedule for registration (which is usually based on the last two digits of your plate number). However, sometimes you find the need to check for vehicle registration, especially in times of emergency.

For instance, when I got into an accident sometime last year, I used my mobile phone to check the registration details of both my car and the other vehicle involved. This helped determine if the plate matched with the vehicle, if the registration was valid, and if there was no LTO alarm (such as carnapping) on the vehicle. This technique for checking registration is also helpful, to some extent, when checking used cars before buying. Although the registered name does not appear, you can at least check if there are any LTO “alarms.”

The procedure is fairly straightforward. You just send an SMS to 2600 with the following keywords:

LTO VEHICLE ABC123

where ABC123 is the plate number. You will then get a response detailing the car’s brand, make, year, color, and date of last registration. Now this won’t necessarily tell you whether the registration is still current or expired, but based on the plate’s endings, you can at least estimate if it is valid for the current year.

You can also check license details by texting this to 2600:

LTO LICENSE XXXXXXXXXX

where XXXXXXXXX is the license number. This can be pretty useful when checking for the driver’s identity and validity of the license.

To get motor vehicle transactions and keywords, send “LTO MV” to 2600. For other permit and transactions, send “LTO DL” to 2600. Each message costs PhP 2.50.

And there goes the Formula One season. Hamilton sucked. The FIA was bollocks. Massa nearly died. Schumi nearly made a comeback. Button won. I guess that’s pretty much it.

For all our talent of making “sawsaw” to just about everything, I think motorsports is one area we haven’t really made any efforts in associating ourselves to. Formula One is just the largest motorsport in the whole world. We’ve been fielding athletes in the Olympics, so why aren’t we doing the same for F1? Malaysia is fielding a Formula One team next season and they’re practically in the same time zone as us.

Well, it’s easy to tell why we can’t.

One easy reason is that we really don’t have an automaking industry to speak of. Sure we make a hell of a lot of jeepneys and I know many people abroad envy that we have areas like Banawe and Evangelista to cater to tuners. But a homegrown automaker that invests on world-class research and development, production, and sales and marketing? None that I can think of. (Anyone knows if FMC is back on its feet or if A-Toys has finally got a crack at it?)

One of the biggest motivations for automakers to field teams is to make it a proving ground for car technology. Some would settle for the publicity the sport brings to the brand. Even with those perks, big names like Honda and BMW have quit F1. Toyota has been mulling quitting too. And these are established automakers that surely have enjoyed such perks. Unless we can find ways to slap on aerodynamics and KERS on owner-type jeeps to sell more of them…

So what about Malaysia? Well, even though Malaysia is part of the ASEAN (of which we are also part), the country is home to Proton which happens to own British sports car maker Lotus. Lotus currently makes few of the best-handling cars in the world (the Elise, Exige and Evora). Oh and they have Petronas too.

It requires a lot of resources to field an F1 team and Malaysia’s got the balls, the funds, the technical know-how, and the driving talent to support Lotus’ participation. Too bad, as Pinoys, we sure have bigger balls than any other nation and I’m sure we can find talent out there (given the number of un-Christian motorists out there), but not too much on the other stuff.

Given our economic outlook, spending at least $65 million on developing speedy cars for just one year is just plain indecent. And there’s other expenses like for travel, publicity, and the team. Mind you that the better F1 drivers get nearly as much as Manny Pacquiao’s net worth (which took him years to build) in just a year.

And the list can go on.

Sure we’ve got fellow Pinoys who are participating in other forms of motorsport in the region but nothing that comes close to something big as F1. And I’m positive we haven’t even participated in WRC, GT races, or even Le Mans.

I just hope to see a Filipino in F1 in my lifetime.

I’ve done some pretty wicked things in my younger driving days like driving (quite) fast and in few occasions, even forcibly powersliding a four-door family saloon going downhill from Antipolo or Baguio to poor effect.

These days, I just don’t feel the need for speed whenever I’m out on public roads any more. I feel it’s just too unsafe and too immature to do those things on congested metro roads. I now follow a driving philosophy that I share with Top Gear’s James May – Christian motoring.

It’s simple really – try to be generally pleasant on the road. And no, I’m not trying to be a Jesus freak here. It doesn’t really include having a rosary draped on your rear-view mirror or having a Sto. Nino statue glued on your dash. More of the ethics than the organized religion.

Anyway, a few pros for being a Christian motorist is that you’re generally safer since following rules means you’re driving at prescribed safe speeds and yielding to people means less accidents. And pedestrians appreciate you.

The thing is, even with a population of 80% Catholic, we have the most un-Christian motorists in the whole world. Let me point out some of the un-Christian motoring habits by our fellow Pinoys. (Feel free to add some more in the comments.)

• Speeding and driving recklessly
• Overtaking aggressively (even in yellow or double yellow lanes)
• Not yielding to drivers’ and pedestrians’ with right of way
• Not letting other drivers change lanes even if given proper signals
• Swerving and excessively changing lanes (singit nang singit)
• Asserting right of way (complete with flashing headlamps)
• Convoys (Yes, this applies to you, politicos!)
• Stealing parking spaces or one-upping people for one
• Parking at reserved spaces
• Double-parking
• Blocking people’s driveways
• Honking at pedestrians
• Honking at law-abiding motorists
• Spraying pedestrians with rain water driving over puddles
• Revving their siento-bente (tunog siento, takbo bente) tailpipes even in quiet neighborhoods
• Turning their souped-up sound systems all the way up
• Catching up with drivers and threatening them

Too bad for us, Christian motorists since not doing all of these things make us doormats to those who do. And this basically is the con to being a virtuous driver. And it doesn’t really help if “Christian” also implies turning the other cheek. But who ever does? The philosphy only calls for being generally pleasant and not be a driving martyr. Now, if only I can find a way to send these un-Christian motorists to driving hell.

MMDA deploys an army of blue-clad so-called traffic enforcers all over the metro and I hate them as much as I hate their “MMDA Labs You” tarpaulin banners which is a lot.

Motorists like me have learned to steer clear of these boys in blue. They seem to serve absolutely no other purpose than to hand out tickets to motorists erring or not. And they only seem to be around when the number coding scheme is in effect or during merienda time, otherwise they magically disappear.

Given our history of red tape, one of the most irritating things that a driver can experience on the road is to be apprehended by traffic cops and enforcers. For one, some of their charges are oftentimes absurd interpretations of traffic laws. As for MMDA traffic enforcers, I had more than one nasty encounter with them.

Here’s one instance. I was driving in one of the crazier areas of Quezon City (somewhere in the south triangle) and since I am not too familiar with the area and forgot my city atlas (a must-have for motorists) so I decided to pull over (carefully, signal lights and all) and ask one of them. I haven’t even rolled down my window when he whipped out his ticket book and started writing stuff on it. With my window down, I was then greeted with a smug, “Ser, lisensya niyo.”

It already took great humility in part as a manly man to ask for directions and the fellow returns my courtesy with a traffic ticket. In the days of old, I would have contented myself slapping that person’s face with my gloves and challenge him to a duel. But then again, those were the days of horse and buggy and traffic enforcers would’ve been more than pointless.

It’s a good thing that these MMDA boys get more than befuddled by a stream of polysyllabic words in English that he simply waved me off. And I never even got directions. Had I not been lucky that day, I would’ve gotten a juicy ticket. Rather than incovenience myself with contesting tickets with their so-called Traffic Adjudication Board, I would’ve paid. Because here’s what you have to go through to contest a citation:

1. File a written complaint with the TAB
2. Secure verification and clearance from data division to clear you from existing tickets
3. Hearing officer schedules hearing and both motorist and enforcer are summoned
4. Both parties are heard in the hearing
5. Protest to be decided through resolution
6. Head of TAB reviews and approves the resolution
7. If citation is upheld, motorist deals with the fine/sanction

Here’s a video to boot.

It’s nice to see that there’s a venue to contest such charges but easily that’s at least a couple of workdays lost if you decide to go through with it. And time is more than a luxury for the working Filipino. I have yet to meet someone who has gone through the process and succeeded.

On another instance, I got a ticket for “illegal parking.” Know that pink line along sidewalks? Apparently, they’d slap you with a violation even if only an inch of your bumper encroaches the pretty pink line. That time, there was no reasoning with the enforcer since the ticket was just left pinned under my windshield wiper. I just dropped by a Metrobank branch and paid the ticket. I just kept the payment stub and a photocopy for future reference.

Anyway, my point is, if there’s one thing that these enforcers should do is to direct traffic first, watch out for violators second. But I guess that’s why Mr. Fernando elected to call them “enforcers” and not “aides”.

Tough lab.

Image credit: MMDA

The recent onslaught of typhoon Ondoy (international name: Ketsana), which left majority of Metro Manila and outlying cities flooded has resulted in the loss of many lives, homes and property. Part of this is the flooding of automobiles. Some had been fully submerged. Some partially submerged. And many others had to pass through floodwaters, probably stuck in traffic or just to get to higher parts of the city, to avoid further damage.

What should a car owner do in the event that his or her vehicle is submerged in flood waters?

How to wade through flood

The best way to deal with flooding is to avoid travelling at all. But if you really have to brave the floodwaters, then here are a few tips, mostly based on an article I wrote for Study Driving some time back.

• Turn off your air conditioning–both the thermostat and the fan. In the event flood waters reach your aircon system while it’s running, it will be costly to clean and repair.
• Use other cars as a reference when checking for depth. If the flood waters are up to halfway of the wheels, then it’s probably still safe to pass through. If it’s already reaching past the wheels, then there’s a high likelihood that the waters will enter the cabin and also the engine bay.
• Check for possible obstacles and changes in depth. With floodwaters, you won’t be able to see the sidewalk or any open manholes.
• It’s easier to wade through flood if you’re driving a manual transmission vehicle, since you can “play” with the engine revolution by adjusting the clutch and accelerator pedals while moving forward. You need to make sure your engine is revving enough such that water will not enter through the tailpipe. So stick to first gear and keep the engine revved to at least 2,000 RPM until you are sure you’ve exited the waters.
• If you’re driving an automatic transmission vehicle, be sure to stick to first gear, too. Do this by selecting “1″ or “L” on your gear selector. You can probably “play” with engine revolution by clicking the gear selector button such that the clutch will disengage and let you rev up the engine without moving forward, in the even you need to stop while in the middle of the flooded street.
• Make sure the water will not reach up to your engine’s air intake. Once water gets in, your engine will choke as it will no longer be able to combust fuel. Some diesel 4×4 vehicles have snorkels that act as air intakes. Since these are located up high, you can theoretically submerge the car in roof-deep waters, for as long as the snorkel is above-water. But of course, most of us drive regular cars, and not flood-proof 4x4s.
• Be sure to check or dry out your brakes right afterward by tapping and pumping to check if they “bite” properly.

After a flood

Based on discussion threads on Vios Club Philippines and Tsikot, here are a few things you should keep in mind if your car gets submerged under flood water while running or while parked.

• Don’t attempt to start the car. You have to make sure the engine is not waterlogged.
• Disconnect both terminals of the battery.
• If water has reached your car’s computer box (ECU), it’s best to have your car towed to the casa or service center without delay. You will probably not be able to do any DIY fixing here.
• Uninstall the air filter, and dry out. You may also replace this is replacement is due anyway.
• Dry out all electricals, especially the relays, plugs and other switches before plugging the battery back in.
• Check your oil dipstick. If it’s coffee-colored (with cream!), then it means water has entered your engine’s cylinders. Oil will have to be changed several times, for this to be flushed out.
• Have all fluids replaced.
• Have all joints and bearings re-greased.
• Have spark plugs dried or replaced.
• Look for drain plugs underneath the car’s carpeting, and also the trunk (usually under the spare tire well).
• Be sure to dry out the car in the sun, weather permitting.
• Have your car’s interior detailed, as the flood will most likely leave mud and other stains inside. Worse than this is the musty, murky smell that water ill leave inside the car.
• If in doubt, have the car towed to the nearest service center or casa.

Repairs for flooded vehicles would usually involve replacement of electrical parts, replacement of spark plugs and fluids, cleaning of the interiors, and additional rustproofing or undercoating (as flooding would be one reason for early corrosion).

Flood insurance

Most insurance policies do not automatically cover “acts of God” or “force majeure,” so be sure to check with your insurance provider if you can file claims for repair or replacement of a flooded vehicle. Most would cover for AOG with a premium, but some would include this as free in the policy. I’m pretty sure insurance companies will be deluged with calls from car owners as an aftermath of the storms.

Has your car been flooded by the recent typhoon? The staff of Pinoy Auto Blog extend our sympathies, especially for families who have lost lives, homes and properties. We will be joining online relief and rehabilitation efforts soon.

Image source: flickr/floriebassingbourn