(INQUIRER file photo / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA)
MANILA, Philippines — More ambulance drivers using the Edsa busway despite not responding to an emergency were apprehended by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Tuesday.
According to DOTr’s Special Action and Intelligence Committee for Transportation (SAICT), enforcers flagged down six ambulances traveling, with their blinkers on, along the Edsa-Main Avenue busway.
In a phone interview with Inquirer.net, an officer from SAICT said that the ambulances were not transporting patients — a violation of the use of the Edsa busway.
“One of the [ambulance] drivers we apprehended earlier reasoned out that he is in a rush because (he will) pick up a patient. But we explained to him that blinkers should not be used if you are not [currently] transporting a patient,” the SAICT operative, who refused to be named, said.
In a post on Facebook, SAICT said that the same driver admitted to their operatives that he is only trying to avoid traffic.
The driver will face numerous violations including a broken light due to a damaged headlight and taillight, unauthorized use of the busway, and improper plate.
His license was confiscated and was issued a Temporary Operator’s Permit.
“Our advice to drivers of marked vehicles is that they should know the protocols in using [Edsa] busway,” the SAICT officer continued.
Previously, the DOTr clarified that only buses operating on the Edsa busway route, Philippine National Police vehicles, and marked emergency vehicles such as ambulances and fire trucks are permitted to utilize the busway.
Marked vehicles that are not responding to an emergency, however, but still use sirens and blinkers will be apprehended.
On March 4, the SAICT also apprehended three ambulance drivers who misused their blinkers and used the Edsa busway.