Tricycles in the Fast Lane

The tricycle issue

Ask any motorcycle rider in the Philippines about their sources of frustration and grief while being on the road and tricycles will definitely be one of them.

What are tricycles

Tricycle is a common mode of public transport in the Philippines.  As the name implies, it has three wheels, two for the motorcycle that propels the whole thing and one for the sidecar attached.  Most are powered by two stroke engines due to its torque characteristics but there was a law passed that requires all motorcycle manufacturers to produce four strokes only.  I haven't read that law myself but the effect can be verified by simply observing the traffic in the Philippine roads.

Usual encounters

For the old two strokes, the power plant is usually 100cc and having said this, the tricycle is severely underpowered. It is therefore not surprising that a tricycle cruises at about 40kph.  You can imagine running at twice their cruising speed and then at a certain junction, a tricycle driver decided to join your lane, you can't help but feel bad about your helpless situation.  It could've been better if there's no traffic on the other lane which is not always the case.  I could cite more equally stressful situations but I won't because a familiar reader might get a heart attack.

Adding more power

Being underpowered is one of the problems of these tricycles.  Fortunately, manufacturers are now selling motorcycles with higher capacities like the Barako 175.  I personally saw tricycles that can cruise at about 80kph which is an acceptable highway speed.  Safety wise, I am not sure and I believe even the government don't have an answer for this.

The main problem

Another problem with the tricycle and much more potent than the lack of power is the attitude of its drivers.  I am finding it really hard to describe how these guys drive but one thing is sure, most of them drive dangerously because they are like drivers from hell.  They would turn without signaling first, accelerate and decelerate erratically, ride during the night without headlights, tail lights or both just to name a few.  If the government would be competent enough to conduct a study to find out the real root causes of accidents on the road, tricycles would be one of the top ten in the pareto.