Christmas ‘carmaggedon’ looms

Dec. 22 will be “the worst day to drive” in Metro Manila” according to a fearful forecast.

Carmaggedon is coming on Dec. 22, according to traffic-beating app Waze, which warned that the Friday before Christmas will be the “worst day to drive.”

Waze, which claims over 90 million active users globally, released on Tuesday additional insights on the driving habits of Filipinos during the holiday season.

It said that Filipino drivers would find themselves in a traffic jam likely jamming to Mariah Carey’s holiday classic “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”

Waze got this information because of its partnership with music streaming giant Spotify.

Using data from 2016, Waze noted that the worst hours in the day to drive for the rest of December were from early afternoon through 6 p.m.

On Jan. 2, drivers would do well to avoid going out on the road between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., it added.

Waze also made light of road congestion issues in the Philippines with a Christmas twist.

Comparing the driving speed of motorists from different countries, it ranked how long it would take drivers from each area to reach the North Pole.

The results: those from the Philippines, Australia and Brazil lagged behind the rest of the world while the fastest were from the United States, Italy and France.

“Based on Filipinos’ average driving speed, it will take about 14 days to reach Santa’s house,” Waze noted.

“In [Asia Pacific], [the] Philippines is 1,400 kilometers closer to the North Pole than Singapore, yet Filipino drivers take eight more days to get there. Globally, Italian drivers are among the fastest in the race to the North Pole (likely because everyone is driving Ferraris),” it added.

Last month, Waze said Filipino motorists had the dubious distinction of being the least satisfied in the world, based on its Driver Satisfaction Index 2017. The survey showed the Philippines at the bottom of a list of 39 countries.

While driving in Metro Manila during the holidays might be stressful, the situation in some rural areas was not better either.

Waze noted that traffic volume in Naga jumps around 2.7 times during the Christmas season. Next was Angeles (1.8 times); Bacolod (1.6 times); Batangas, Iligan, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro (all at 1.4 times); Davao City, General Santos (1.3 times); and finally, Zamboanga City (1.2 times).