MANILA, Philippines — I was  in my car on EDSA the other day when we came up behind a passenger bus, which suddenly stopped, with a screech and to my horror (I really don’t want to watch an accident) let out a couple of passengers in the second traffic lane, in front of on-coming cars. The cars, fortunately for the bus riders, were driven by sober God-fearing people who happened to be going slow enough to stop, or swerve, and avoid hitting them.

But that is not the first time I have witnessed what could be fatal accidents on the highway which are caused by irresponsible bus drivers. I live near the corner of Pasay Road and EDSA which is a transportation hub, with buses racing one another to discharge their passenger the quickest, and get on fast, looking for other fares. I hardly ever see a bus door closed. I saw one bus with its back door tied open with a giant rubber band. They are left open, the easier to unload unwary riders into the traffic. One of my househelp stepped off a bus that didn’t come to a complete stop and fell getting off, a fall that fortunately did not cost her life, but caused a trip to the emergency room of the nearest hospital and three stitches in the scalp.

Bus drivers not only discharge and take on passengers in traffic lanes, they also seem to enjoy racing each other. I have learned, since I’ve lived in Manila, that buses, unlike in New York, are not owned by the city and regulated by city rules but are privately owned, and therefore, run as a business. Apparently, some owners are more interested in fares than safety.

And, I might add, the so-called traffic police are little help. There is one corner near us that has witnessed three deaths this year, one a three-year-old child, run over either by the bus it was on, or by traffic when passengers were discharged indiscriminately in the highway.

The only time I saw bus drivers being disciplined (i.e., stopped by the police) was during the unlamented years of martial law. I hate to think that martial law is the only answer to reckless drivers.

So where are we? Since the buses are privately owned by individual companies (and I will say one company was finally suspended not long ago, for repeated infractions, so there must be some hope) then the question is, what about regulations? My hunch is there are probably all the regulations and laws one needs already on the books, and it’s a problem of implementation of the law rather than lack of laws. We have an honest President and a number of well-meaning Cabinet secretaries. So can we urge somebody in government to please press the traffic police to properly regulate the traffic?