# The Traffic Was Crazy Even Back Then



## Maxx62 (Dec 31, 2013)

I stumbled across this interesting video about Manila that was made way back in 1938. Apparently there were no tricycles or jeepneys to foul up the traffic back then, and instead they had two wheeled carts pulled by either horses or caribous to hold up the traffic. Can you imagine driving around Manila in a Ford Model B without any air-conditioning?


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## greenstreak1946 (May 28, 2017)

What an interesting video. WOW! Back in the 1930's. I wonder what kind of mess did all the horses
make on the paved streets and then all the cars running over it? I wonder if they even cleaned it up? Bad SMELL maybe. hahha


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## SimonAngeles (May 10, 2016)

Anyone else notice they were right hand drive back then?


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## Maxx62 (Dec 31, 2013)

SimonAngeles said:


> Anyone else notice they were right hand drive back then?


Looks like they just drive anywhere on the road wherever they can manage to squeeze their cars between the caribous.


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## hogrider (May 25, 2010)

I think SimonAngeles is right, if you look at 3:56 & 5:26, it definitely looks like the driver is on the right side of the car. I can't imagine why that would be, both the Spanish and Americans drive on the left.


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

I wonder how many buildings featured are still standing and what they look like now.

Let's have a treasure hunt and post pictures from today along side a still from the video showing the differences. Try to stand in the same place the original photographer stood.


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## magsasaja (Jan 31, 2014)

SimonAngeles said:


> Anyone else notice they were right hand drive back then?


I was wondering the same thing and thought maybe it had something to do with the British occupation of Manila, but the dates wouldn't add up. 
Had a little look around on google and found this article. Maybe us Brits did influence the right hand driving for a few years albeit through the Japanese. 

How the Philippines became a left-hand-drive country | Top Gear Ph

Today marks an important milestone for Philippine motoring because it was on March 10, 1945, that President Sergio Osmeña signed Executive Order No. 34, which directed Filipino motorists to drive on the right side of the road. Until that time, Philippine vehicles had been driven on the left side of the road, which meant our cars had been right-hand-drive (or with the steering wheel positioned on the right).

How the Philippines transitioned from driving on the left to driving on the right side of the road was apparently down to economics. As stated in the EO, changing the driving orientation was economically advantageous to the Philippines since it would "reduce the price of motor vehicles imported into the Philippines from the United States."
Of course, World War II was also a factor as the EO noted that the vehicles used by the United States military on our roads were driven on the right side of the road. It is said that the Japanese demanded that the countries it occupied during WWII drive on the left side of the road. So perhaps our LHD shift was also as much political as it was fiscal. It was likely the Americans letting everyone know that they had wrested back control of the Philippines from the Japanese.

With this day marking the 70th anniversary of that executive order, we're thankful we made the shift to left-hand-drive motoring then because, according to National Geographic, 75% of the world's countries (as of 2013) now drive on the right side of the road, just like we do. Which means more car models are readily available to our market.

The Japanese adopted RHD not because of their "Samurai Tradition". Motor Vehicles and Motoring Culture were a Western Import, and they happened to import the British Way not the American Way first. The Brits had carriages on the Left Side of the Road that were driven from the Right Seat, following Ancient Tradition of horse-riding knights.


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## chili.pepper (May 24, 2017)

So funny .


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## Irene Rivera (Aug 4, 2017)

So interesting video!!!! but I think at that time the atmosphere in Manila is fresher now


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