Pinoy Driver

Smoky Exhaust: Types, Causes and Fines

Posted on April 11, 2017

Smoky exhaust or popularly known as smoke belching in the Philippines is a type road violation. Smoke belching has always been scrutinized in the country not only because it causes air pollution (according to a study, almost 65% of pollution is coming from smoke belching), but also it now contributes to some road accidents. Also, emission of smoky exhaust causes a lot of health diseases mainly on respiratory system and later on can translate into cancer. This is why emission test is part of vehicle registration renewal; to determine if the vehicle is creating harmful level of smoky exhaust or not.  Another goal of emissions testing is to cut down smoke pollution that are harmful to all living things, with particular focus on improving air quality.

 

Emission test

 

Emissions testing checks the levels of hazardous materials that escape from a motor vehicle with a combustion engine.  The government has prescribed that gasoline-fueled vehicles should not emit more than 3.5 percent CO (by volume) and 600ppm (particles per minute) HC to be given a certificate of emissions compliance. Diesel-powered vehicles must not exceed 2.5K for natural aspirated engines and 3.5K for turbocharged diesel engines. Motorcycles must meet a 4.5 percent CO standard, while the HC limits have not been set.

 

What does the color of your exhaust mean?

 

Passing the emission testing doesn’t really depends on how thin or thick you smoke is, instead it looks at how dangerously polluted the fumes are on the smoke. The typical color of vehicle smoke is white but there are other smoke colors that you should be aware of. You can also identify the problem in your car by just using the colors listed below.

 

Smoke ColorCauses
White and thick
  • Overheated engine
  • Blown head gasket
  • Cracked engine block
Black
  • Burnt engine
  • Clogged air filter
  • Fault in the sensors, fuel injectors, fuel pressure regulator
Gray
  • Bad turbo charger
  • Problem with transmission fluid
  • Faulty transmission vacuum modulator
Blue
  • Burning oil
  • Oil leak in the combustion chamber

Fines and penalties for smoke belching

There are a lot of cases in which a vehicle passes initial emission testing, but later on be arrested for smoke belching since smoke emission changes through out the use of the vehicle. If you will be unluckily accused of smoke belching on the road,  do not be scared right away. Before surrendering your plate to the traffic officer, an on the spot test will be done first. A device called opacimeter will be used to examine the vehicle’s exhaust.  If the vehicle fails the test, you need to surrender your license plate to the officer. All confiscated plates will be turned over to the Land Transportation Office (LTO). To get  your plate back,  you must first obtain an Emissions Clearance certificate (just like in the initial registration) from an LTO-accredited testing center. To do this, go to LTO and present the Emission Clearance certificate and then pay the appropriate fine for the violation. Fines are as follows:

  • First offense – Php 1,000.00
  • Second offense – Php 3,000.00
  • Third offense – Php 5,000 plus a seminar on pollution management

 

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Posted in Advice, Car, Truck

Getting a Driving Instructor and Choosing a Driving School

Posted on March 12, 2017

Filipino young bloods who want to learn how to drive are usually taught by an elderly relative of the family. In most cases, people who has money to spend opt to go to a driving school and make advantage of a driving instructor. A driving instructor is a person who is hired by a person who is learning how to drive and wants improve his driving skills in order to get a driver’s license. They manage the driving theory lessons, teach the driving students about the right traffic rules, and inform student drivers about safety driving procedures. Driving lesson charges vary  depending on the type of instructor, car to be used, and the duration of driving lesson. But is it really worth it to get and pay for a driving instructor? Let this article help you decide what type of driving lesson and when to get a driving instructor.

 

Types of driving instructor

 

Below are three types of driving instructors

  • Employees – these are instructors that work for a driving school or any educational organization such as a college, tertiary institute, the military, etc.
  • Franchised or licensed instructors – these are instructors that were able to buy licensed franchise and has the right to have a company’s logo in their car to make their job legit even if they are not directly working for the company
  • Independent instructors – these instructors own more than one car. They could work as partners or even hire other instructors to work or franchise their business.

 

The types mentioned above have different charges and may differ as well on the driving lesson packages that they offer. It would be better to directly contact the company or instructor to get quotes. Contact numbers are usually posted in their websites and social media accounts.

 

Factors affecting the price of driving lesson

 

Vehicle

If the car to be used for the lesson is an old model, expect the fee to be less expensive. But if it’s a newly released unit, of course the would be more expensive. Bear in mind that the current price of gasoline is also factored into consideration. If it’s high, the instructor may charge more to compensate the gasoline to be used during the entire duration of the lesson.

 

Competition

The law of demand and supply applies in every business and so in driving lessons. If the demand is high, the pay is also high and then vice versa. Also companies changes their rate to match the other competing companies. But there are cases that companies tend to file bankruptcy as well in this business because of the lack of students coming in.

 

Local demographics

If a large portion of population doesn’t have enough money to pay for a driving lesson, instructors automatically lower their fees to meet the needs of their market.

 

Skill and reputation

This is the most common qualifier for instructors. Instructors who have already set good reputation in the business can maintain their prices or even demand for more since they have a steady stream of students. On the other hand, if the instructor is just starting out, then they need to promote their business  further to get student learners to enroll.

 

Considerations for choosing a driving instructor

Every student driver wants to make sure they choose the best driving school and instructor while not neglecting their budget at the same time. But you really get what you pay for, and considering the hazards involved in driving, I suggest you don’t cheap out on your driving lessons. Below are qualities that you should consider.

  • Driving school has good reputation
  • Make sure the school have well maintained vehicles
  • Check if they have polite and patient instructors
  • Lastly see to it that they invest in training and learning to improve their service

 

Cheap driving schools in Manila

 

Listed below are the cheapest driving schools in Manila according to LTO. For list of prices, you can just check their website or social media accounts.

  • A1 Driving School
  • Polaris Driving School
  • Socialites Driving School
  • F1 Driving School
  • Smart Driving School
  • Honda driving School

 

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Brake fade: What are the risks and how does it develop

Posted on March 5, 2017

All car brakes at a certain time will experience overheating when in use which results in a degraded braking power. If not confronted properly this may leave you out in a hazardous situation that’s why it’s a good thing to know how it happens and what are the causes.

What is brake fade?

Brake fade or braking system fade is the degradation or complete loss in stopping power of vehicle’s braking system. This is due to sustained and repetitive application of the brakes which results into deterioration of both drum and disc brakes.

 

Brake fade is one of the leading cause of road crash here in the country especially with truck vehicles as they are more susceptible to have brake fades due to heavy the load they carry.

 

How does it fade?

Braking system fade is the result of overheating brake pad. This means all vehicles that have brake pads rubbing against a brake rotor which transforms the vehicle’s kinetic energy into heat has the tendency to develop braking system fade.

 

Best practice to minimize brake fade

When Towing Another Vehicle

Imagine you are driving downhill while pulling a  500kg trailer(trailer is without brakes). If your vehicle weighs around a ton it only means that your braking system will have to shoulder about fifty percent more load. This results into excessive overheating of your brake pads that results into a faster braking system fade than usual.

 

Now an even worse case scenario is when you’re pulling another vehicle. This is a typical case in the Philippines where you see a regular vehicle towing another vehicle. Bear in mind that if that vehicles that are usually towed are the ones that had a break down so this means that it’s an unbraked trailer because it’s engine is off. Doing this will surely result in a faster fading of your brakes system.

 

When towing another vehicle make sure to keep the following in mind:

  • Make your brake system is in good condition. Proper scheduled maintenance will do that for you.
  • Drive in a slow pace of not more than 30kph
  • Refer to the loading limit of the towing vehicle that you plan to use

 

When driving downhill

Modern vehicle’s braking system are not particularly designed to withstand continuous applied brakes. So f you are driving downhill bear in mind the following to reduce brake fade:

  • Maintain a constant speed or reduce your speed
  • Don’t drive on neutral gear as you won’t be able to maintain constant speed without using your brakes frequently
  • For manual transmission vehicles you can put your gear between one to four. This would help you maintain constant speed when going downhill. Gear number five would too fast and dangerous when diving down even on a lengthy hill.

 

What should you do in case a brake fade happens?

Turn down your speed immediately as soon as you recognize a brake fade and switch down the gears to as low as you can without over-revving the engine. It is really necessary to get high revs as low the vehicle won’t slow down when it’s low. It’s actually alright to rev the engine up to the redline (maximum rpm) or even past the redline for a very brief time period. It’s not going to damage your engine because you are not applying petrol to rev the engine instead it’s running through the momentum force of the wheels. Anyhow, make sure to not damage the engine because that’s another story.

 

Pull the handbrake gently. Do this if your vehicle has a typical lever handbrake. If your have a hydraulic handbrake then it could put you in a more dangerous situation by causing your car to spin since the hydraulic handbrakes apply itself with entire force. For automatic cars, do not put it in reverse or park mode. If you have a manual car never put it in reverse as it will damage your gearbox when travelling forward.  

 

Try to look for exits as soon as possible. To minimize danger to other road users it’s best to try to get off the road as quickly as possible especially if you can’t stop to pick up speed. Try to run it off into fields or into a hilly location, or a bumpy road rather than running it toward a wall, or electrical post, or worst into another vehicle.

 

Check out the terrain. Bushes and shrubs will impede your speed; muddy terrains even more, however, be sure that the terrain you are treading wouldn’t hoist you into the air or even worst a hurl you tumbling down into a cliff.  

 

After stopping

If you manage to come into a halt your brakes will most likely be fiery hot. You’re going to have to let it cool for a while. However, don’t leave it in one position as it could contort the rotors due to excessive heat. To avoid this try to keep your wheels turning to prevent further damage to the vehicle and remember to keep it in 1st gear to minimize the speed.

 

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Posted in Advice, Car

Parking guidelines

Posted on March 5, 2017

Driving requires a lot of skills. One of which is parking — be it parallel or not. But more importantly, a driver should know and be aware of where and when to park properly. This article will discuss common guidelines and whatnots about parking and its corresponding consequences or fines if not followed.

Driveway or public road parking

The rule of thumb is to always park one meter away from a vehicle entrance. Failure to do so makes it difficult for drivers in larger vehicles to get in and out of the driveway. It will also cause blocking emergency services. If this happens to you, you have the right to complain to a traffic officer or local council, who will also be the deciding body whether to issue a ticket to the driver and/or tow the vehicle.

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority or MMDA is widely known as the Philippines’ traffic commission who is in charge for any traffic violators. In 2002, MMDA released a memorandum order under Resolution No. 02-33 that states,

“MMC Ordinance No. 78-03 as amended, authorizes the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority to tow and impound illegally parked vehicles.”

As the memorandum clearly stated, no one is exempted in the towing so long as you did an illegal park. The memo also includes the two guidelines to when a vehicle could be towed. These are as follows:

  • “Stalled Vehicle” means any motor vehicle and/or its attachments which for any cause is unable to proceed under its own motive power and is on a public road, street or thoroughfare and dilapidated/junked vehicles in Metro Manila.
  • “Illegally Parked Vehicle” refers to one which is parked in areas prohibited by existing law or ordinance for parking purposes or those designated by the Authority and or the local government units (LGUs) as NO PARKING areas or zones.

To further guide you on your next parking, below are other basic parking mishaps that you should avoid.

 

Pavement parking

This type of careless parking is when a vehicle is causing obstruction to pedestrians, having them step off the pavement and walking towards the highway which is absolutely dangerous. Pavement parking makes it difficult as well for people with disabilities (especially those on wheelchairs) to pass safely. If you own the pavement, then you will automatically be exempted to the rule.

 

Outside the line parking

Parking lines are created to ensure that each vehicle has enough space to get in and out of the vehicle. It is a must to ensure that you park your vehicle within the given area to avoid double parking (using two parking slots). This technically eats up space that lessens opportunity for others who badly need to park as well. To avoid making this mistake, make sure that all your wheels are within the parking line. As easy as that.

 

Yellow line parking

Ever wonder what’s the purpose of yellow lines in car parks? Yellow lines mainly indicates restrictions in parking areas depending on the location you are at.

There are two types of yellow line in car parks:

  • Single yellow line – restrictions on parking is only for a short period of time and these restriction periods are shown by a signpost.
  • Double yellow line – 24/7 restriction and signposts are not needed.

Yellow double lines are popularly used in Singapore, United Kingdom, and United States.

Parking on PWD (people with disability) slot

As respect and help to people with disabilities, all parking areas around the world are required to have a slot or bay for them. In the Philippines this is clearly defined in the IRR of BP 344 entitled “AN ACT TO ENHANCE THE MOBILITY OF DISABLED PERSONS

BY REQUIRING CERTAIN BUILDINGS, INSTITUTIONS, ESTABLISHMENTS AND PUBLIC UTILITIES TO INSTALL FACILITIES AND OTHER DEVICES.” This slot is easy to recognize since it has a drawing of a stick man that seems to sit on a wheelchair. Also, PWD slots are always located near the entrance of establishments. Even if the slot doesn’t have a vehicle parked on it, it doesn’t give you any permission to park there unless if you’re a person with a disability yourself. Always remember that good and responsible parking reflects a good driver after all.

If you’re someone who wants to know who gets to use the PWD parking then you can check-out this article.

 

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Why Drivers Don’t See Cyclists and Motorbike Sometimes

Posted on February 23, 2017

You are driving one beautiful Sunday afternoon, the radio is blaring and you are nearly home. As you approach a junction you apply the brakes and get ready to stop if you need to. Glancing left and right you notice there’s no traffic so you begin to move forward. Suddenly there’s a bike right in front of you and you slam on the brakes, narrowly avoiding it.

How did that happen? You checked left and right but did not see any vehicle approaching. Was it a ghost? No, it actually is caused by two phenomena that occur in human vision. Understanding these will give you insights to just how flawed our own vision can be!

 

Saccadic masking

 

There are instances where we become totally blind for a very short period of time with our eyes wide open. This is caused by the quick involuntary movements of the eye balls whenever you turn your head or move your eyes from one point to another. These fast involuntary movements of the eyes are known as saccadic movements, or just simply, saccades. During a saccade, no useful visual information is taken by our brain for a very short period of time (less than 10 ms). and within this period our brain does an excellent job of masking the blindness by promoting vision through a redirected visual axis. In other words, the brain prevents you from noticing the momentary blindness by replacing it with the image of the very next object you see. This occurrence is called saccadic masking (link to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saccadic_masking)

 

 

Try looking in a mirror and see if you can watch your own eyes as you move them from one point to another. You will never observe your own eyes moving because your brain is masking it, but another spectator will see your eye movements. Saccadic masking is also the reason why the first second hand movement of a clock, at first glance, appears to be longer than its next movements.   

 

Change blindness

 

This psychological phenomenon happens when large changes in a scene goes unnoticed by an observer. Occurrence of such are influenced by eye movements (saccades), visual and mental distraction, and the lack of focus and attention.  Try watching this video to have a better understand of what change blindness is.

 

How can understanding Saccadic Masking and Change Blindness make driving safer?

 

Being aware of these natural phenomenons will also make you aware of the measures that you could take to avoid any accidents influenced by them. Below are five tips which, when followed carefully, help mitigate our human visual incapacity.

 

  • Be attentive. Always keep your focus on driving and not on other things. Avoid looking at your mobile device or from anything that could distract you while driving.
  • Always check more than once. Whether you are looking at the mirrors or checking right and left, see to it that you always do this more than once. This greatly increases your chance of seeing less visible objects such as cyclist and motorcyclists.
  • Be proactive and not reactive. Being proactive prepares you to respond to any unexpected circumstances while driving. Always think ahead of the situation, especially when approaching a junction, overtaking, and making turns. By doing so, you are actually conditioning yourself for a quick response (ready to step on the brake or make a quick maneuver) in case an accident might occur.
  • Turn your head. When changing lanes or turning, it is not enough to check your mirrors alone. Instead, turn your head as well to check over your shoulder immediately after checking the mirrors.
  • Don’t think twice about it. When driving and you suddenly feel sleepy don’t hesitate to pull over to take a rest. If someone else is with you who knows how to drive, let him or her take the wheel. Do not drive in the first place if you are not feeling well or are sleepy.

 

You cannot prepare for what you do not know

 

Now that you understand saccadic masking and change blindness, and how it could pose as a threat to driving, you can now apply what you learned and take it on the road for a safer driving experience.   


 

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Had a traffic violation? Here’s where and how to pay

Posted on February 15, 2017

Almost every driver at some point will have at least minor traffic violation in their driving life. No matter how good you are of a driver or how keen are you with the Philippine road and traffic rules it’s just inevitable to have a traffic violation with our current road rules and signage here in the country. Take for example the route from Aurora boulevard  to Araneta Center Cubao. There is not a single road sign that tells you that vehicles on the left lane must turn left yet when you’ve decided to go straight you’ll be stopped by a traffic enforcer for a traffic violation. These type of schemes are particularly rampant in the country and all Filipinos know that corruption takes many forms. From high government officials down to the lower ranks which includes traffic enforcers on the roads.

 

No Contact Traffic Apprehension Policy

Due to the increasing numbers of traffic violators the MMDA (Metro Manila Development Authority) has decided to re-implement the No Contact Traffic Apprehension Policy in April 15, 2016. Instead of the conventional apprehension of traffic violators the system utilizes CCTV cameras and other gadgets to determine motorists that violates road and traffic rules within Metro Manila. So now traffic violators are issued a ticket directly from an MMDA enforcer, courier service or a registered inbox mail. The great news is that violators can now settle the penalty charges at the MMDA office or via MMDA payment centers.

 

For traffic violations issued within 7 days

If your violation issuance has not exceeded 7 days you may settle at any of the following MMDA payment centers below:

 

  • Metrobank branch (all branches)
  • SM Bills Payment Outlet (all outlet)
  • Meralco Bayad Centers

 

  • Meralco Complex-Gate 2 (Meralco Complex, Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City)
  • Pinagkamaligan Meralco Branch (Ma. Roxas St., Barangay Pinagkamaligan, Tanay, Rizal)
  • Tropical Hut Taytay (Ortigas Ave. Extension corner E. Rodriguez Ave., Taytay, Rizal
  • Ever Gotesco Commonwealth (Ever Gotesco Center, Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City)
  • Pritil Tondo (Beside Puregold Pritil)
  • Gulod Novaliches (Beside Meralco Nova)
  • Ultra Mega Paliparan (Inside Ultra Mega Supermarket)
  • Zapote Arcade (Beside Puregold Zapote)
    Zapote Arcade corner Quirino, Zapote Road, Las Piñas City
  • Romacom Muntinlupa (Beside PNB Poblacion
    Romacom Building, Muntinlupa City)
  • Cangatba Porac (Back of Municipal Hall of Porac
    Cangatba, Porac, Pampanga)

 

For traffic violations issued more than 7 days

Traffic violations that has been issued for more than seven (7) days you will need to settle your penalty charges at the MMDA Redemption Office located at EDSA corner Orense Street, Guadalupe Nuevo, Makati City.

 

For disputes or protests regarding your violation

If you have any dispute regarding your violation you could proceed to the MMDA Traffic Adjudication Division.

 

What happens if you have unpaid violations?

If you have more than three unsettled violation penalty charges you’re going to have to secure a certificate of attendance by participating in the Traffic Academy program of the MMDA. Otherwise you could settle the violation charges at the MMDA main office.

 

Traffic violators who refuse to pay their penalty charges will not be granted vehicle registration renewal and the violator and his vehicle details shall be reported to the LTO and be included in the Alarm List of MMDA. In addition to this, his driver’s license renewal will also become invalid.

 

What if you’ve had a traffic rule violation that you’re now aware of, How would you be able to check it?

The good news is that MMDA has developed a website called “May Huli Ba?,” this stores into its database all the unsettled traffic violations then indexes and shows it to you upon entering your license plate number. To know more about the MMDA’s website check out this article.
This is all summed up in the infographic below.

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10 Simple Ways to Drive like A Pro

Posted on February 9, 2017

Even if you have only recently learned how to drive it is actually easier to drive like a pro than you think. Remember that most so-called experienced car drivers have not even mastered the basics, or gotten them right, even after all those years.

Here are 10 very simple techniques that any first time driver can use to drive like a pro. Most of them are tips from serious racing and pro drivers.

1. Be extra observant.

There are always clues and hints on the road that tell you what to expect ahead. Most of us do not even see these small pointers. For instance people waiting for a bus on the other side of the road means that there is a bus coming. Bins left out means that a garbage truck may not be too far off.  It may prove to be hard at first but get into the habit and soon it will be almost second nature and folks will wonder long and hard how on earth you manage to do it. Just like a real pro.

2. Always expect and prepare for the very worst

Expect the worst and once in a while it will happen and it will make all the difference. For example slow down instead if speeding past some parked cars because you expect a kid to run out from one of them and onto the road without looking. And that vehicle you are about to overtake, do expect him to suddenly turn into that side road without showing any indication. In other words drive for yourself even as you also drive for the other road users as well.

3. Look where you want to go

Research has clearly proved this. Lose control at high speed and you are looking in the direction of the cliff and chances are high that you will go right over it and at precisely the point you were looking at. Start staring at the flashy car on your right and you will notice that you are drifting towards it. Whether you are in an emergency situation or not just look in the direction where you want to go and it will happen much faster and much more smoothly.

4. Always drive at a speed that will enable you to stop in the distance you can see

This should be your golden rule on the kind of speed you want to drive at. Your pace should always give you enough room to stop within the distance that your eyes can clearly see. Ignore this rule and it is only a matter of time before you are involved in a collision of sorts.

5. Use your car horn more

You really need to also use your horn to alert others of your presence. Most accidents happen because the other driver did not see you until it was too late. If you are worried that others will interpret this as you being too aggressive. Just make sure that yours is a short horn signal and then follow it up with a nice smile and wave of thanks. They should be able to quickly understand that you were simply alerting them.

6. It may sound crazy but do not focus on the car directly in front of you

Instead you need to try and look beyond it, preferably through their windshield. If there are several cars try and look through the spaces that divide them. In this way you will be sending vital information to your brain to enable you to react in good time in the event that there is an oncoming threat out there somewhere.

7. Use your tongue for balance and early warning

Balance is what your car and driving are all about. You lose balance and you have lost control. The technique used to make use of the tongue is to push it against the roof of your mouth. You will instantly be able to sense and “feel” what you vehicle is doing and react appropriately in good time long before you get to a situation where you just have milliseconds to do something. Use those nerve densely packed nerve endings on your tongue to drive like a pro. The pros do it and so should you.

8. Nine and three o’clock is correct and the commonly promoted 10 and 2 are wrong

One of the reasons why placing your hands at 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock has been overtaken by the times is because of the airbag. If your vehicle has an airbag this can be fatal. Besides 9 and 3 has it’s own many advantages. For instance if you by any chance lose control for a few seconds you would want your steering pointing straight ahead as you regain control. All you would have to do in this case is bring your hands back to their resting position which is your 9 and 3.

9. Do not brake with your right foot

By keeping your left foot hovering over the brakes you are dramatically reducing the time you will take to slow down and stop in an emergency. At the kind of speeds used on the highway this can easily translating to stopping 50 feet earlier than another driver unfamiliar with this technique. And that that is a huge difference.

10. Don’t do two things at the same time

Do not steer and brake at the same time. Do not accelerate and steer at the same time. Steering, braking and accelerating are three different things that must be done one at a time.

This article was contributed by Alex who works for sellbike.com. If you are looking to sell your bike make sure to visit us because we buy any motorbike.

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