Chan’s tips on how to prepare for worsening traffic

It’s one thing to enjoy memes popping up on our social media news feeds. It’s another thing entirely to live them out. And one of those classic Pinoy memes that I had the once-in-a-lifetime chance of experiencing was with the legendary composer and crooner Jose Mari Chan.

Chan, with that ever-calm voice, has become a staple of Holiday radio, his “Christmas In Our Hearts” becoming the unofficial anthem signaling the start of the ‘Ber” months, and the world’s longest Yuletide celebration.

But while we know many of Chan’s timeless songs by heart, not many of us know how our nation’s favorite Christmas caroler deals with life’s everyday challenges. Like Metro Manila’s maddening traffic.

Inquirer Motoring had a “chance to stop and talk awhile” with the singer in his Makati office on Monday. He related how, many years ago, he had been in a road accident in New York.

“That was the time when I just arrived from Manila because my grandmother had just passed away. But I had to go to work. So on the way home, jet lagged, sleepy, I drove, because i had no driver in New York. And I had an accident. I bumped the rear end of another car. And my radiator started to leak. But i think my Lola was protecting me because, lo and behold, I didn’t know what to do there on the FDR drive (Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive). Suddenly, my neighbor, who worked in Brooklyn and who usually would take another route, was on the same drive. He recognized my car. He stopped. He helped me. I believed that it was my Lola who helped me. Since then I tell myself, if you’re jet lagging, you’re groggy, sleepy, do not drive,” Chan related.

At the age of 74 with 8 grandkids, Chan feels he doesn’t need to deal with traffic anymore. “I give the stress (of driving) to my driver,” he laughed.

“And I always tell him to observe what I feel myself. O relax lang. Huwag ka mag-overtake (Do not overtake). Pabayaan mo sila (Let them pass). Oh, pedestrians. let them cross. Paunahin mo sila (Let them go ahead). Sanay na sila sa akin (The drivers are used with my ways). I always tell them don’t rush. I have no appointment to catch. I always tell these to my children. Because all my children drive here in Manila.”

Chan, however, doesn’t bring such good tidings when it comes to the city’s traffic.

“Traffic will only get worse. It won’t get better no matter how many overpasses or underpasses they make. The (number) coding never worked. The rich just buy two or three more cars.”

Chan gave me a “Christmas List” of how to mentally prepare one’s self on the worsening traffic. This was also the list he gave to another media scribe some time ago. The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) did confirm on Monday that traffic in the “Ber” months would be worse. Now, the only thing standing between an angry and impatient driver is this ageless crooner’s calming voice on the radio, and maybe his advice:

1) If you’re driving, eyes on the road at all times. Don’t be distracted by beautiful legs on the side of the road. Don’t be distracted by your mobile phone. Constantly check your rear view mirror for motorists and motorcyclists because that’s how accidents happen. Because you don’t see the cars, you think it’s free, and you make a left then all of a sudden there’s a motorcyclist and you hit him.

2) Wear your seat belts at all times.

3) Remember, you are not in a race. You want to get to your destination safe and alive.

4) Observe the speed limit.

5) Respect the highway lanes. Minimize scooting in and out of the lanes. Let other aggressive drivers go ahead. You are not racing against anyone.

6) Minimize rubber necking.

7) If you’re late for an appointment, it’s your fault for not giving yourself time allowance. Yes, it’s bad manners to be late for appointments. So give time allowance but don’t risk your personal safety by driving fast to catch your meetings. Your safety is more
important.

8) Pedestrians have the right of way. Be courteous to them especially the commuters. You’re in a comfortable car. The commuters are not and have ways to go.

9) At stoplights, keep a distance to the next car in front of you. Half a car’s length.

10) Be alert. Don’t go through red lights. Don’t race against yellow lights.

11) Be courteous to other drivers. You don’t know what problems they have in their lives or what bad days they were having. Be considerate. Remember this is not a race nor a contest. Drive with goodwill in your heart. Let the aggressive drivers overtake you. It’s not your loss.

12) Avoid using your car horns. They contribute to noise pollution and are irritants to all of us. They antagonize and can incite road rage.

13) Don’t drive when you’re sleepy.

14) Don’t drive when you’re drunk or tipsy.

15) Don’t drive when you’re angry or in a bad mood. Drive with a smile in your heart.

16) Drive out to the countryside on weekends for fresh air. Fresh air can reinvigorate.

17) Say a prayer before going on the road.

18) If you listen to the radio, it helps because it can soothe you, it can make you, sometimes, lethargic. You have to be alert on the road, and if music can distract you, then it’s not good to listen to music.

But if it’s a Jose Mari Chan song, you can always be sure there’ll be some good vibes coming out of those speakers, and you’ll be lighter on the pedals, and not so quick-tempered.