Traffic in Bacolod, Philippines is an eye-closing experience. Each time we enter an intersection, I feel like closing my eyes. The traffic lights and stop signs are “suggestions” and you basically have to force yourself through a non-stop sea of traffic. There are no true lanes of traffic, thus you are constantly being passed and passing others with mere inches between vehicles. In addition, the roads are filled with an unbelievable variety of vehicles: large trucks, jeepnees overloaded with passengers, motorcycles with sidecars used as cabs, tricycle cabs pedaled by locals–all of these exist in a free-flowing and unending line of traffic.
Yet, oddly, there are no accidents. We’ve driven for three nights and two days through the city and haven’t seen the slightest sign of an accident. I’m more likely to see a police car next to two smashed cars in Memphis than I am in Bacolod. Nathan Luther tells us there are hardly ever accidents.
How could this be? Nathan says it basically has to do with this: everyone is always looking out for others.
American drivers tend to look out only for themselves. Philippine drivers are always looking out for everyone else. Thus when another vehicle darts out in front of an American driver, the result in an accident. The American driver never saw it coming. The American driver never expected it. The result in Bacolod just the opposite. The Bacolod driver saw it coming. The Bacolod driver fully expected it. Nathan tells us that when he drives, he fully expects to find other drivers close by and he drives with that in mind. He’s always looking for and looking out for others.
I wonder if this same attitude might prevent a lot of the crashes that happen in relationships. So often in our friendships, marriages, and working relationships we’re looking out only for ourselves. All we care about is where we are headed and how fast we can get there. Other people become impediments to our final destination. But what if we started looking out for others? Could some of the world’s worst traffic produce some of the world’s best people?
