The Philippines Is Considered One of the Most Stressful Countries to Drive In
There’s one thing we’ve taken for granted over the last two years: the lack of traffic. Now that more and more workers are returning to the office, pre-pandemic traffic jams are back in full force, making many of us wish we could work from home forever just to avoid EDSA rush hour. With the mind-numbing traffic, endless road constructions, and Fast and Furious-esque jeepney races, it should come as no surprise that the Philippines has been named one of the most stressful countries to drive in.
On a list compiled by confused.com, an insurance intelligence platform, the Philippines was ranked the 13th most stressful country to drive in. While our roads are worse than Singapore’s and the U.K.’s, the Philippines still ranked better than Hong Kong, Italy, and Canada. The list was topped by the U.A.E., which experiences the highest number of fatal road accidents per year, while Malaysia was named the most stressful country to drive in Southeast Asia.
The list was based on a weighted score based on the number of speed cameras, state of road infrastructure, number of fatal road accidents, and overpopulation of cars. While Philippine roads are less fatal for drivers, there’s one thing we apparently lack. Unsurprisingly, it’s road infrastructure. The Philippines came in eighth in the top 10 countries with the worst quality roads, falling just behind Argentina, Brazil, and Zimbabwe. The government has been working to improve the state of Philippine road infrastructure, but progress can take decades.
By now, Filipinos have gotten used to the everyday carmaggedon, but wouldn’t it be nice to not wait 10 minutes at a stoplight or swerve every other minute to avoid road construction and crazy drivers? We can dream.
