Traffic enforcers can do a better job with the right equipment

Soichiro Honda once said that if you give people the right set of tools, they will be able to do their jobs much better.

Well, following up on last week’s traffic-related story, where I mused about traffic enforcers having very little to no coordination and communication, I thought of how we can give suggestions to help our traffic enforcers do their jobs better by arming them with the right set of basic tools and equipment.

First and foremost, traffic enforcement needs a dedicated main coordination facility for Metro Manila. A single person is responsible for either a particular stretch of road, or a major thoroughfare or intersection who, during rush hour traffic jams, can dictate which lanes have priority to allow traffic enforcers to keep them moving at a constant rate while the other lanes are blocked.

This won’t be too much of a hassle. Aside from a dedicated HQ for traffic monitoring and a specific person in-charge of a specific stretch of road or intersection, we will need CCTV’s on every angle of each intersection.

Once we have an eye in the sky (so to speak) who sees traffic and where it’s most congested at, we need traffic enforcers who are equipped to communicate and coordinate effectively with each other, and with the main traffic monitoring HQ.

All our cops need a two-way radio that will allow them to freely communicate with their fellow traffic enforcers on the intersection or thoroughfare they are assigned to.

More developed cities can even set up a wide area WiFi or WiMAX zone to further lower the cost of communication. Once a command is given from the traffic HQ to the traffic enforcers on the ground, transmitted via the two-way radio, then the traffic enforcers know immediately what to do.

This is perfectly in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s proposed emergency powers to solve traffic by centralizing traffic administration and control throughout the nation’s capital and its immediate suburbs.

Aside from the two way-radios, it will be ideal if all traffic enforcers wore high-visibility/reflective vests. Many times, under the MRT/LRT or fly-overs and bridges, traffic cops are often unseen because of the low light, which causes a few seconds of confusion since motorists cannot see cops signaling them to stop or to move.

These high-visibility/reflective vests should say POLICE or MMDA or TRAFFIC ENFORCER to alert motorists to keep their eyes peeled for these traffic enforcers and await for their instructions.

Aside from high-visibility vests, a flashing light baton and reflective gloves (one side in red for stop and the other side green for go) are a must.

If this sounds very complicated for you, just remember that traffic enforcers, policemen and constables all over the world (particularly in France, the UK, Germany, Japan and the US) use all these types of very basic equipment when shepherding traffic, especially in the event of rain/snow or other adverse weather conditions.

These basic equipment are readily accessible and affordable (you can buy the vests at high-end hardware stores), and crucially, will make the lives of traffic enforcers safer, and their jobs easier because visibility, especially during rainy conditions when they try to keep people aware and informed of their signals and commands.

And since it is the rainy season, I also suggest we provide our traffic enforcers with light, breathable, high-visibility/highly-reflective rain gear, plus water-proof rubber boots and a wide-brimmed, equally-reflective headgear or hat to allow them to continue to monitor, control and enforce traffic rules and regulations despite pouring weather.

It is during heavy downpours that traffic really stretches up to 11 p.m., and that’s because our traffic enforcers are ill-equipped to continue their jobs in adverse conditions due to poor training and lack of proper equipment.

During summer time, I also recommend having our traffic enforcers utilize a specialized dri-fit reflective shirt to help them cope with the intense heat and prevent the traffic enforcers from getting sick.

Remember, without traffic enforcers manning our roads, traffic will become chaotic, and it is us, the motorists, who will suffer.

Interestingly enough, equipping all our traffic enforcers with these aforementioned gear won’t cost much, relative to the amount of money we are losing daily (P2.4 billion daily as per estimates of a recent study).

Aside from the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG), local governments should also buy two-way radios, high-visibility vests and rain gear, plus water-proof boots to allow them to manage traffic effectively.

In fact, I’ll go on further to say that certain institutions which are the nuclei of traffic should provide these equipment to traffic enforcers manning their respective areas.

Yes, I am referring to schools such as La Salle Greenhills, Poveda, Xavier School and Immaculate Conception Academy (ICA) that cause so much traffic at the Edsa-Ortigas area, as an example, to donate such equipment to the brave souls who manage traffic in their areas.

The last bit of suggestion I will give the government to help traffic enforcers is to provide them with body-mounted cameras.

This helps identify who are regular traffic violators, and when apprehending traffic violators, enforcers will be able to video them apprehending someone.

This also protects them from potential trouble (social media has a nasty habit of painting police, traffic enforcers and government officials as corrupt, inept and lazy) should any altercation arise.

Again, this is a practice done in most developed countries worldwide so it isn’t that much of a revolutionary idea to implement it here in the Philippines.

The government-issued body-mounted cameras should be shock-proof, heavy duty and high-definition small cameras that, should the need arise, takes footage which can be used as evidence to implicate or more importantly, exonerate traffic enforcers and law enforcers alike in a court of law.

Admittedly, the net effect of these suggestions might not make a huge impact on actual traffic. But I firmly believe it is a worthwhile endeavor, to furnish our traffic enforcers with the right set of equipment because it makes their work easier and more effective, and allows them to continue working in all but the most dangerous road conditions and traffic situations.

It also allows us motorists to see and anticipate their traffic commands better, which should help us navigate traffic much more effectively, efficiently, and quickly, even if just a few minutes at a time. Every minute saved counts, right?

Secretary of Interior and Local Government Ismael Sueno, Chief PNP Roland “Bato” Dela Rosa, MMDA OIC Atty. Emerson Carlos, and of course, fellow Bedan President Rodrigo Duterte, I hope your government looks into this for the betterment for our traffic enforcers and traffic in general.

I also call out to all the mayors of the cities and municipalities of Metro Manila.