Again, we need to ask if the orange barriers in EDSA are really helping improve the country’s traffic situation or if they’re just adding to the problem.
In a video uploaded to Top Gear’s Facebook page last Mar 13, a driver caught how the barriers just moved voluntarily because of the wind. The driver was able to stop to avoid accident, but the video proves just how dangerous (and fickle minded) the barriers could be.
The barriers weigh 7 kilograms and filled with a foot of water to make them heavy. However, since it’s summer season, the water evaporates quickly, thus making the barriers lighter.
MMDA further argues that they cannot refill the water in the middle of the day because it will only cause traffic. Also, they can’t use sand as an alternative because it can be dangerous, especially for those on motorcycles.
Their solution? To sandwich every ten plastic barriers between concrete barriers to ‘lock’ them in place.
In an interview with ABS-CBN, MMDA Chairman Emerson Carlos said that the barriers have not caused any accident on the road, “Usually, yung mga sasakyan ang bumabangga doon [sa barrier], hindi yung barrier ang bumabangga sa sasakyan. (Usually it’s the cars which ram on the barrier, not the other way around.)”
Just last month, a speeding bus turned the highway into a demolition derby by recklessly ramming on the barriers.
