Last night, on my way to Araneta Coliseum to watch Kylie Minogue, my driver made a U-turn somewhere along Greenhills-Ortigas. There wasn’t any NO U-TURN sign so he could’ve turned, but his mistake was that the light was still green. Big mistake. He was stopped by a police officer and his license was confiscated. My driver told me he will just give the police officer something to so he doesn’t get a ticket. I told him not to do so and just get the penalty and reimburse it to Accounting.
After a few minutes, he was inside the car and I asked him how much the penalty and, to my surprise, it was only P150. So I don’t think it will take a genius to figure out what is wrong with what just happened. I’m not referring to what my driver did but that fact that you break a law, and you pay P150. The amount to me is like a grande hot caramel macchiato from Starbucks to wake me in the morning, a movie in Greenbelt 5 to relax me or even cheaper than have my nails cleaned at Bruno’s.
So can I safely say that others do not really care if they break the law because it will just cost them a Starbucks macchiato which they can skip sometimes? And in the case of breaking or accidentally breaking traffic laws, it’s people who own a car and can afford a macchiato 3 times a day.
What if the penalty is P10,000 to break a traffic law like making a U-turn in a NO U-turn spot? Will traffic be better? Will the roads be much safer? Will taxi drivers be nicer and will jeepney and bus drivers be more giving on the road?
Years ago, we laughed at Singapore for banning chewing gum which up to now is in effect. So who is laughing now?
“Singapore decided to ban chewing gum in order to keep the city clean. In fact, it has been deemed the cleanest city in the world. Before 1992, some people were disposing of the chewed gum incorrectly causing gum to turn up in “odd places” like under tables (never heard of that odd receptacle).
If you’re traveling to Singapore make sure that you clear your bags and pockets of chewing gum. Bringing even small quantities of chewing gum is prohibited.
According to Wisegeek, the penalty for chewing gum in Singapore is similar to littering laws: “The littering law requires a fine of $500 to $1,000 US Dollars (USD) for first time offenders. Repeat offenders may be fined up to $2,000 USD and assigned a Corrective Work Order (CWO).”
Seriously, if you know you will pay P10,000, will you break a traffic law when you know that is already a weekend shopping spree at Zara during sale season?
We may all benefit from the idea.
You need a good rule to rule.
Last night, on my way to Araneta Coliseum to watch Kylie Minogue, my driver made a U-turn somewhere along Greenhills-Ortigas. There wasn’t any NO U-TURN sign so he could’ve turned, but his mistake was that the light was still green. Big mistake. He was stopped by a police officer and his license was confiscated. My driver told me he will just give the police officer something to so he doesn’t get a ticket. I told him not to do so and just get the penalty and reimburse it to Accounting.
After a few minutes, he was inside the car and I asked him how much the penalty and, to my surprise, it was only P150. So I don’t think it will take a genius to figure out what is wrong with what just happened. I’m not referring to what my driver did but that fact that you break a law, and you pay P150. The amount to me is like a grande hot caramel macchiato from Starbucks to wake me in the morning, a movie in Greenbelt 5 to relax me or even cheaper than have my nails cleaned at Bruno’s.
So can I safely say that others do not really care if they break the law because it will just cost them a Starbucks macchiato which they can skip sometimes? And in the case of breaking or accidentally breaking traffic laws, it’s people who own a car and can afford a macchiato 3 times a day.
What if the penalty is P10,000 to break a traffic law like making a U-turn in a NO U-turn spot? Will traffic be better? Will the roads be much safer? Will taxi drivers be nicer and will jeepney and bus drivers be more giving on the road?
Years ago, we laughed at Singapore for banning chewing gum which up to now is in effect. So who is laughing now?
“Singapore decided to ban chewing gum in order to keep the city clean. In fact, it has been deemed the cleanest city in the world. Before 1992, some people were disposing of the chewed gum incorrectly causing gum to turn up in “odd places” like under tables (never heard of that odd receptacle).
If you’re traveling to Singapore make sure that you clear your bags and pockets of chewing gum. Bringing even small quantities of chewing gum is prohibited.
According to Wisegeek, the penalty for chewing gum in Singapore is similar to littering laws: “The littering law requires a fine of $500 to $1,000 US Dollars (USD) for first time offenders. Repeat offenders may be fined up to $2,000 USD and assigned a Corrective Work Order (CWO).”
Seriously, if you know you will pay P10,000, will you break a traffic law when you know that is already a weekend shopping spree at Zara during sale season?
We may all benefit from the idea.
You need a good rule to rule.