Driver's Nightmare

One of the things a driver on Philippine streets/roads would probably consider to be a nightmare is having kids running on the sidewalk and then suddenly crossing the street as if they were indestructible little creatures.

I experience this from time to time. I'm driving peacefully, not violating any traffic rules when all of sudden, a kid suddenly appears out of nowhere, running on the sidewalk. So that sends off a signal to be more cautious as long as the kid is there, running either in front or beside the car. Then one sudden move, a move so completely foolish that you don't want to expect it but it happens anyway, the kid suddenly crosses the street, right in front of you. So, you hit the brakes as quickly and as hard as possible just to avoid hitting the kid. And you see the kid continue crossing, as if the world is a very harmless playground. Of course, a sigh of relief escapes from the driver's mouth. Some would go curse the kid or shout different sort of profanities, some would just ignore and forget the whole incident. I belong to the latter set of drivers, and i used to be that kind of kid.

I remember that a car almost hit me, and could have ran over me, because i foolishly decided to overtake the car so that my sister could not tag me to become the 'it" on our one-on-one game of tag. Of course, in a race of car vs kid, the kid would have no chance in hell of winning unless the car's not running. Well, as a kid, maybe i already believed in the adidas slogan "impossible is nothing". I was lucky that the driver was able to hit the brakes just in time, with the bumper of his car barely hitting my knee or thigh.

Now that i think about it, I've become my own nightmare...or something like that. Well, having kids like that is something drivers have to deal with. Like pedestrians who refuse to use the overpass (even the pretty ones built by MMDA). Or the tricycles in some areas, especially provinces. Or fellow drivers who are clueless of traffic rules or the aggressive type of drivers (guilty of both, sorry, but i'm more of a defensive driver now compared before when i was just starting. unfortunately, i still lack the knowledge on traffic and road rules)