00:00 A while ago, a cyclist and a motorist were in a fight on the middle of the road.
00:06 Their encounter was a physical one.
00:09 This is one of the dangers cyclists face every day
00:13 when they are on their way to work or to go to work.
00:18 This is the issue that was raised by GMA Integrated News Weather Presenter and cyclist, Andrew Pertierra.
00:25 This Sunday, a street encounter was targeted on social media.
00:31 The two men, a cyclist and a motorist, were in a fight.
00:37 In the video, you can see a red car on the side of the road and a cyclist approaching.
00:44 The car suddenly drove away and the cyclist broke the driver's seat.
00:50 The driver of the car then got out.
00:53 They ran away, but they were caught in a physical fight and the gun was fired.
00:59 In another angle of the video, you can see the cyclist was hit on the right side of the head
01:05 until the motorist hit the bicycle.
01:08 This incident is said to be the cause of the two men fighting on a bike lane on a road.
01:15 At that time, I was hit by a motorcycle and I was hit by a gun.
01:21 Even though I was hit, I didn't point it at him.
01:26 Because of the incident, the motorist was removed from the service as an employee of a Supreme Court court on August 27, 2023.
01:35 The privilege of carrying a mask and driving was also returned.
01:49 In the wake of the pandemic, public transportation is also limited.
01:55 Bicycling has become one of the alternative vehicles of our countrymen.
02:00 That's why many local government units or LGUs put protected bike lanes in their area.
02:07 The protected bike lanes will protect the safety of cyclists.
02:12 They no longer have to ride in big vehicles in the middle of the road.
02:18 Just like what happened in this accident where a cyclist suddenly fell off the bike and fell down and sat on the road.
02:28 You can see in this dashcam footage what happened to a cyclist and a car.
02:35 In another dashcam footage, you can see a cyclist pedaling on a lane.
02:42 At first, he stopped on a tricycle. The biker tried to avoid him.
02:47 In his attempt to avoid him, he hit a motorist and was hit by a car on the road.
02:53 But even if I'm hit, it's still dangerous.
02:59 Just like other bike commuters, I'm also being asked to work every day.
03:04 My route to work is near, so it's not a problem for me to ride a bike.
03:11 It's cheap and free exercise.
03:13 I met and rode with my fellow bike commuter, Wil.
03:20 Today, I will accompany him from Quezon City to San Juan.
03:29 It's so relaxing to ride a bike. It's so good to sweat.
03:45 In our 5 km ride, I learned a lot from Wil.
03:50 Many advocates say that bike lanes are actually one of the more cost-efficient ways of improving transport.
03:57 If you're a public transport, if you're the LGU, what would it take for you to create a public transport in your vicinity?
04:03 Bus? Jeep?
04:05 In comparison to costings, right?
04:07 At least, if this is an infrastructure bike lane, your op-ex is cheaper.
04:14 You just have to do maintenance of the boulders every now and then.
04:16 A veteran of bike commuting, Wil, says that he discovered that riding a bike is more practical.
04:24 Actually, I started riding a bike for commute during the pandemic.
04:27 Prior to that, I commute by riding a jeep, bus, or train.
04:31 Or I drive.
04:32 But when the pandemic started, public transport routes became chaotic.
04:35 It's hard to ride.
04:36 Instead of 10 minutes, you have to ride a jeep for an hour.
04:39 It's hard.
04:40 Then, there's a bike lane that is protected.
04:42 So, I'm more comfortable to ride a bike.
04:45 Speaking of driving, since our crudo is expensive,
04:48 we hear everyday that the price of crudo is rising.
04:53 It's the same.
04:55 Especially for me, I feel like it's a waste of crudo.
04:57 It's a waste of gas.
04:59 Because what happens is, I go back to the city,
05:01 there's still traffic, so it's a waste of gas.
05:03 Once I go home, I feel like I spent P3,000 on food.
05:07 So, instead of fuel for the car, fuel for the body.
05:11 But Wil says that he was more comfortable riding a bike back then.
05:16 The local government removed the bollards or barriers in the bike lane that can be found in the city.
05:23 It's important that there are physical bollards in our roads
05:26 because it serves as protection for our cyclists against motorcycles and other vehicles.
05:33 Because Wil is affected, he wrote to the Mayor of San Juan
05:38 to ask for the help of those cyclists.
05:42 We noticed that all the bollards were gone.
05:46 Then I asked some of my fellow cyclists who also go through Artigas,
05:51 "What happened? They also disappeared?"
05:53 We all deserve to be safe!
05:56 This Monday, bike enthusiasts gathered in Pinaglabanan Shrine
06:02 to call for the removal of the barriers on the road.
06:06 No one will ride a bike out.
06:08 In Metro Manila, two weeks before the race, you might get into trouble.
06:12 Safety of the people is important.
06:14 It's important that there are protected bike lanes for them.
06:18 I hope the Mayor will hear that we are not at war.
06:22 The Mayor of San Juan, Francis Zamora, defended the use of roads.
06:31 We really had to make a decision.
06:33 It's a difficult decision to be honest.
06:35 We need to balance the different sectors.
06:38 Of course, the opinion of the cyclists is different from the opinion of the motorists.
06:44 What we're trying to achieve is a balance.
06:47 We still have bike lanes.
06:49 Remember, we did not remove any bike lanes.
06:52 Except that, there are no physical bollards.
06:55 The few streets that we had before.
06:57 Since the creation of bike lanes on our roads,
07:02 from 71 recorded accidents in 2018,
07:06 191 recorded bike accidents were recorded in 2022.
07:11 Under the current traffic law,
07:14 motorists are not allowed to enter the streets with space for bicycles.
07:21 There is a fine of P1,000 for those who will be caught.
07:25 Despite this, it seems that there are still many motorists who are being harassed.
07:30 In fact, in the rush hour of the first day of school,
07:35 we saw many motorcyclists who were forced to cross the bike lanes.
07:42 Oh no! That's prohibited!
07:44 The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority or MMDA first established
07:50 the use of bike lanes as a shared lane for cyclists and motorcyclists.
07:55 But after the MMDA's efforts, the cycling and motorcycle community
08:01 temporarily suspended it while studying the most effective solution
08:07 to reduce the heavy traffic in EDSA.
08:10 Our roads are not designed to have separate lanes for bicycles or motorcycles or even buses.
08:19 Because the design is still from the 1950s.
08:24 Bike to work
08:26 We met a cyclist named Nino who is a bike to work.
08:30 He is cycling more than a kilometer a day to get to work
08:35 as a barista in a coffee shop in Quezon City.
08:39 Before the pandemic, I was already riding my bike to work.
08:42 One day, he said that his journey home was normal
08:45 until something unexpected happened.
08:48 In a part of a mountainous area in Manila,
08:51 he was hit by a truck.
08:54 His bicycle was destroyed while his left leg was injured.
08:59 August 1, 2023, I was on the way home.
09:02 Then suddenly, after five minutes, I was about to cross the bridge.
09:06 I saw a truck on my right side.
09:08 I was about to cross the bridge when I saw a truck behind me.
09:10 I was turning around.
09:12 I didn't see what happened.
09:14 When the truck passed by, I saw that my leg was injured.
09:20 My bike was completely destroyed.
09:22 I had a helmet and a bike light on my back.
09:24 I also had a reflector on my fender.
09:27 I don't know how he didn't see me on the road.
09:29 Since he started cycling in 2019,
09:34 he has experienced several accidents and injuries from his fellow motorists.
09:38 But this is the most dangerous accident that happened to him.
09:43 The truck overtook my lane.
09:46 It came from the truck lane and it passed my lane to overtake.
09:50 That's when I got hit.
09:52 To this day, his left leg is still injured.
09:58 His injuries are getting better but he can't move because some of his bones are still attached to his leg.
10:06 There are cracks made by a hole.
10:09 The bone pierced and that's why there's a big hole.
10:13 The lesson is to always be careful.
10:16 We can't blame the accident even if we are very careful on the road.
10:20 Even if we say that we have our own lane, bike lane,
10:24 other motorists still overtake us.
10:29 They are making our lane expressway.
10:31 Despite the accident, he still hopes to return to cycling on the road.
10:38 But for now, he will temporarily refrain from cycling.
10:43 My wife doesn't want me to cycle anymore.
10:45 But I will think about it if I can return to cycling.
10:49 That's the only way of transport for me to work.
10:52 The main advocacy of the bike vlogger Ian How is the safety of the road.
11:00 Hey, it's hot.
11:03 Almost half a million subscribers or kapotpot if you call it, are following his rides.
11:09 We're close. We have a kapotpot chasing us.
11:12 Not only here in Metro Manila but also in other places in Luzon.
11:17 His main content when he just started his bike vlog is his experiences on his bike tour from Quezon City to Makati.
11:26 First of all, of course, you need a bicycle.
11:32 He was able to see the importance of having a space for cyclists
11:37 that if proven, is one of the most vulnerable on the road.
11:42 I'm definitely not in favor of removing it.
11:45 Of course, the safety provided by bike lanes is obvious.
11:48 But the LGUs are the ones who see what's happening in their area.
11:53 The decision is really up to them.
11:55 I also observe when I ride my bike, I see that the cars and motorcycles are in a big part.
12:02 And this is the bike lane, I'm alone or there are two of us.
12:05 As long as the cyclists are not in a hurry,
12:08 that they are rightfully using the bike lane,
12:10 and maybe the motorcycle should have a speed limit.
12:12 Because those who ride their bikes to work are sometimes tired,
12:14 they don't have much energy to go fast.
12:16 I favor adding more to the roads that have enough space to put a bike lane.
12:23 Because when I ride around Metro Manila,
12:25 I see a lot of bike lanes that are just put aside.
12:29 For example, that lane is just for one person,
12:31 and then the bike lane will be cut.
12:33 It's a bit hazardous for both motorists and cyclists.
12:36 Ian is now a self-employed and has his own bike shop.
12:40 In all the places in the Philippines that he has visited,
12:43 he has used his bicycle.
12:46 Here in Metro Manila, it's the most dangerous.
12:50 His message to his fellow cyclists who are riding on the streets,
12:54 let the cold of the head go,
12:56 let others take care of you.
12:58 Always have the presence of mind when you're on the streets.
13:01 Sometimes, even if you don't see anyone in your group,
13:03 you don't know that there's danger coming from behind you.
13:05 Well, we have to study different options.
13:09 Now that both groups agreed that sharing is not safe,
13:13 we will look at what we can do.
13:15 Because we can't stop because both groups said that it's not safe,
13:21 we have nothing to do.
13:23 Given that the number of cars is increasing as we normalize,
13:27 if we don't fix it,
13:29 the traffic will get heavier and heavier.
13:34 Every time we go out on the streets,
13:37 we have a different responsibility.
13:39 For the cyclists and motorists to be safe,
13:43 a clearer program and system should be implemented.
13:47 I am Anzuel Pertiera,
13:53 with "I Isang Brigada."
13:57 [Music]
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