Some people just like to play with death.
Driving against traffic in the Philippines can land you a traffic violation, but in this case, it could’ve landed the motorcycle rider in a casket.
Facebook user Eunice Whigan shared a now-viral video yesterday of a motorcycle rider with a backseat passenger driving north in the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) Tollway’s southbound lane.
“[I saw a] [c]ounterflowing motor vehicle along STAR tollway [heading] to SLEX (South Luzon Expressway) Calamba. [A] [k]amote lord at its finest.”
“Counterflowing” is a colloquial term which means that a vehicle is driving in the opposite direction of a lane’s traffic flow. The Filipino word kamote, on the other hand, literally means sweet potato in English, but in this instance, it means that the driver is reckless.
The video shows the motorcycle rider and the passenger riding in the opposite direction of the expressway while some vehicles can be seen traveling along the route at a high speed.
“Crazy. Look at him, that’s so dangerous,” Whigan says in Filipino in the video.
Whigan told Coconuts Manila that the video was recorded yesterday at 8:30am while she was heading to Alabang in Muntinlupa City.
“[The driver was traveling] from Santo Tomas, Batangas STAR tollway going to SLEX Calamba,” she said. “I have no idea if he was caught or not. I have no idea why he was even there.”
She shared that the rider even managed to get himself in the expressway’s fast lane.
She added that the type of motorcycle the rider was using was definitely not allowed on the expressway. Only big bikes or motorcycles with engine displacements that are 400 cubic centimeters and above are allowed on the expressway.
Whigan shared that there were no railings so the rider could easily head to the correct lane.
“The question is, how did he manage to enter the expressway without passing the toll gates?” she asked.
The video had over 235,000 views, 900 likes, and 2,600 shares as of this article’s posting. Netizens chimed in on the incident and thought it was reckless and dangerous.
Cyrille Bautista wrote sarcastically in Filipino: [W]ow [he’s] so smart!!!!”
Isagani Castillo said: “He’s already not allowed [in the expressway], and he also counterflowing.”
Adrian Nastor wrote that if the driver gets hit by a car, it’s going to be the latter’s fault. “You’re so dumb, I hope you read this!”
Carl Pastor added that he was literally playing with death.
Jason Enriquez Figuracion wrote: “Some Filipinos are too much.. For the driver of the motorcycle, don’t just think about yourselves, [think about] those that’ll be affected [by your actions].”
Have you seen other drivers like this? Leave a comment below or tweet us @CoconutsManila.
