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One of the requirements of my married life is a Christmas season road trip to Bataan, the provincial roots of my better half. Driving from Manila to Bataan is a 2 hour, 115 km trip that takes you through the North Luzon Expressway, or NLEX, and the lahar fields of Pampanga.

The last time I have been on the NLEX was a trip to Baguio a few years back, when its renovation was still in progress. Construction work made the traffic horrible and that part of the trip was something I do not look back with fondness when reminiscing about that Baguio trip. Since then, I have read and heard a few good things about the quality of the renovation and was naturally curious to see just how big the improvements were.

We made the trip on a holiday (Dec. 26), which accounted for the light and friendly traffic conditions. This took a lot of the sting out of my role as the designated driver. The drive along EDSA from Ortigas to the Balintawak toll plaza was the usual boring and uneventful Metro Manila, made easier to bear by the unusually light holiday traffic.

I had heard about the outrageous toll rates before, but seeing the rates posted at the tollgate and preparing to pay approximately P140 for the one way use of 66 kilometers of road still stung. If I thought it was expensive for a once a year trip, I could imagine how this additional cost would have affected the people who had to take this way every day to and from their places of work. The amount of P140 x 2 = P280 daily just to use the road. Ouch.

However, once we got on the NLEX, I couldn't help but appreciate the newly- renovated asphalt-topped road -- no potholes, no cracks, almost perfectly leveled. Smooth as a baby's bottom. If I weren't driving a family car fully loaded with three generations (two grandparents, two parents, an infant and his yaya), exceeding the 100 kph speed limit would have been way too easy. Traffic was light so keeping an average speed of 90-100 through most of the trip was not a problem.

The other thing I liked about that drive was the relative discipline of the other drivers on that stretch of road. Idiotic overtaking maneuvers using the shoulder or reckless lane switchers were few and far between. I had such a hard time believing it that I theorized that it could have been the lingering effects of the season of giving.

I actually felt quite safe while driving along the NLEX, even at speeds that would already be considered borderline dangerous on our provincial roads. It was fenced off, so there is virtually no chance of stray pedestrians. They even had special runoff areas for vehicles to pull over and attend to whatever trouble might have plagued its trip. Calling stations were also available at certain intervals. We were lucky not to have been forced to use these facilities to check if they worked, but at least they looked new and well maintained. I also noticed that it was being patrolled by official looking pickups. Considering the hefty toll, I'd like to think they actually apprehend violators and help people in distress.

Of course, all this security, comfort and convenience on the road came with a price… to the tune of approximately P2 per kilometer in this particular case. Apply that to my daily Silay-Bacolod trip (14km x P2/km) = P28 x 2 would be P56 added to my expenses everyday just for toll. Not exactly chump change. I can understand and imagine the uproar it would generate if we had to pay that price for using our roads.

If I sound like I'm bitching about our roads, I'm not. I know that compared to most provincial roads in our country, the Silay - Bacolod highway is among the best in the country. You can hardly find multiple lanes, divided by an island, on good quality concrete on most roads outside Metro Manila. The best thing about it is that it costs nothing to use. Of course, since it's free, you get pedestrians crossing anywhere; you get trucks, tricycles and trisikad straddling the "fast" lane; you get potholes the size of moon craters manifesting after extended rains; and you get the very deadly spilled cane phenomenon during the milling season. These are basically the same things we have been living with since time immemorial and really don't bother us anymore. I just couldn't help but compare the good experience I had with the NLEX and wish that experience could be replicated during my daily drive (of course minus the sinful toll rates). Comments, reactions and suggestions may be sent to admin@visayandailystar.com

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