How to cross the streets of Metro Manila

Filipinos are not the best in observing road courtesies and traffic rules. In other countries, motorists would stop when they see pedestrians who are about to cross the road. Here in the Philippines, you basically have to watch out for yourself. Not that motorists will run you over, goodness noh! But you have to develop some sort of instinct as to when or when not to cross the road.

Motorists, most often than not, won’t stop at you if you are walking on a pedestrian lane, unless the traffic light is at a full stop. The trick in crossing a road here is to gauge whether the cars are slowing down to give way to you or to see whether they’re speeding up while nearing the pedestrian, because that means they have no intention of stopping. I think Filipinos have already developed this street-crossing intuition, and they know basically when to cross or not to cross. For tourists however, it can be a challenge. My advise is just follow the Filipinos, or ask when it’s ok to cross.

On the other hand, motorists are not the only people guilty of not following road courtesies. People crossing the streets don’t use pedestrian lanes lots of times, and sometimes they would just cross the streets whenever they wish, and they have a better advantage if they cross in numbers. So as a motorist, it is a bit irritating when you are brought to a full stop because the pedestrians are crossing when they are not suppose to. But then again, who are you to complain as a motorist?