Driving in the Philippines - Philippine Driving Tips

When first driving in the Philippines, when visitors first encounter the busy Philippine roads and somewhat quirky driving habits, many form the impression that driving in the Philippines must be a nightmare. Happily, that’s view is not totally correct; driving in the Philippines is not the heart-in-mouth experience many worry about. Though small, most Philippine roads are adequate for their task - certainly not the Third World nightmares that many cynics would have you believe. Driving in the Philippines may not be for everyone, but it is easy to learn.

General Road Use

One thing to realize is that when driving in the Philippines, road travel can be slow. This is especially noticeable when town or rural roads are busy with slow moving (and often regularly stopping) vehicles; such as, jeepneys, agricultural machinery, and of course that bane of driving in the Philippines, trikes (a passenger motorbike and sidecar combination).

One aspect of driving in the Philippines that you quickly come to realize is that Philippine roads are no place for the meek. This means that when driving in heavy traffic, the trick is to be assertive, but not aggressive. For example, when trying to enter a major road from a side junction, there is little point in waiting for a courteous motorist or a break in the traffic. The correct procedure is to slowly edge your vehicle forward little by little into the stream of oncoming cars. You continue to do this until your vehicle is so far onto the road that oncoming cars can not pass. At this point they let you enter the road. (But please note that this must be done to coincide with the traffic flow – don’t just pull out suddenly in front of a bus doing 100 kph as he will end up with a new hood ornament – you!). 

By international standards, many Philippine roads are quite narrow and most non-toll roads outside large towns and cities are two-lane, two-way roads with just a painted line dividing the opposite lanes (sometimes). This said, part of learning about driving in the Philippines is to understand that at junctions, Filipino drivers often disregard road markings, for example, the two road lanes marked at a traffic light will often have 4 lines of traffic trying to push in.

Driving in the Philippines Provinces

Driving in the Philippines is generally over three common road surfaces: concrete, asphalt, and gravel. Roads with concrete surfacing tend to have fewer potholes but, on some heavily used stretches of road, you may find that large trucks and under-road water seepage have led to the formation of some quite severe cracks or “sink holes.” These can – and do - catch the unwary driver by surprise. Where concrete has been used on mountainous roads, water run-off can at times eat under foundations and undermine the road itself. Be vigilant! When you’re driving in the Philippines and see branches or stacks of rocks across the outside lane on a road surface, avoid driving on that area.

Asphalt road surfaces laid on a good foundation provide a smooth and quiet ride. On the smaller, less trafficked Philippine roads, expect potholes and, in some cases, ridges in the road surface caused by the tires of heavy trucks sinking into the asphalt on hot days. Take care to check the road edging as heavy rain and flooding can cause the asphalt road edges to crack and break off.

There are two types of gravel road to be aware of when driving in the Philippines: graded gravel and loose gravel. On a graded gravel road, the road surface has been worked and the small gravel stones pressed flat into the hard packed under surface. A graded gravel road is usable by any standard road vehicle.

Loose gravel roads are usually laid on old mountain trails where the surface layer contains rock outcrops. This gravel tends to be a mixture with large stones used to “fill in” surface undulations. Unfortunately, loose gravel tends to collect on either side of tire tracks, forming ridges of loose stones and exposing rock outcrops. If you are driving in the Philippines you must understand that as a conventional road car only has six inches of ground clearance, it is easy to slide off loose gravel ridges, and rock outcrops can easily damage the car’s steering or undercarriage.

As a general rule, dry roads in lowland provinces are passable by all vehicles but, as the roads in high mountain areas are usually narrow, with loose gravel surfaces, vehicles with high ground clearance are strongly recommended. 

Road Hazards when Driving in the Philippines

Philippine drivers have learned to expect some unique local road hazards that you should familiarize yourself with before heading out into the provinces.

During sunny days in rural areas, while officially not permitted you are still quite likely to find one lane of a road covered with either drying rice (palay) or corn (mais). When driving in the Philippines, if you find your lane blocked with drying crops, and oncoming traffic prevents you from going around, it is quite acceptable to do as the locals do and slowly drive through the drying area. But please, do keep an eye out for logs or large stones that may have been placed at the end of the drying area. Hitting these could ruin your whole day!

When driving through small towns and barangays in the Philippines take extra care and drive slowly and carefully. Provincial Filipinos are an outdoor people; they enjoy playing, walking and cooking at the side of, and sometime even in the middle of the roadway itself. In rural barangays, it is quite common for the road to be used as a basketball court, playground for children, crop drying area, or even as a covered party area. In such cases, part of driving in the Philippines it learning that it’s best to just try to smile and ignore these minor irritations. The locals do understand cars must get by and a way will always be found through – even if you do have to wait for that match-breaking basketball point to be made.

One aspect of driving in the Philippines that all visitors invariably come to hate is sharing the road with local trikes. These motorbike and sidecar combinations are in common use to transport paying passengers. In remote rural areas, trikes provide a vital service; but, as anyone who drives around Luzon quickly learns, within towns and built up areas, huge numbers of these underpowered and highly polluting vehicles seriously disrupt traffic flow. In addition, while officially banned from the national highways, in reality, as road shoulders can not be utilized, they use main thoroughfares at every opportunity. When driving in the Philippines you should always keep in mind that of all Philippine road users, trike drivers are the most likely to ignore traffic laws and rules. While you may find some trike drivers that give way to cars and even make an effort to indicate that they are slowing down, stopping or turning across traffic - most do not!

Night Driving in the Philippines

Night driving in the Philippines provinces can be hazardous! Outside of major populated areas, very few roads have lighting and as there is no law requiring headlight alignment, very few headlights shine true. In itself, the lack of lighting and frequent night blindness caused by unaligned lights from oncoming vehicles is dangerous. However, when this is coupled with trikes and jeepneys without lights, farmers riding home on their unlit cultivators (or their dark brown, mud covered Carabaos), or groups of people walking merrily along the center of the road, night driving in the Philippines can be a real hazard to the unprepared driver. So, be certain to drive within the range of your vision to avoid any nighttime accident.

Rainy Season Driving in the Philippines

If traveling during the rainy season, be aware that some secondary roads and even national highways under repair may have unpaved sections or diversions. If there is good drainage you may find these sections quick and easy to traverse. However, if you are out in the wilds always take a good look at the road ahead of you. If you see large sections of mud, plan your route to drive through the shallowest areas. When you proceed, drive at a slow, steady speed until you have cleared the wet mud sections. If you go too fast or stop mid-way, chances are you will become bogged down – and it could be quite some time before help arrives!

It’s always a good idea to keep a strong, heavy-duty towrope in your car when driving in the Philippines. If you do become stuck, a passing vehicle – or the local farmer and his carabao – can then help you pull your vehicle free! 

Driving in the Philippines Rural and Mountain Areas

When driving in the Philippines rural or mountain areas, you should always try to drive at a speed from which you can stop easily, quickly, and safely. While you may remember this while atop a mountain on a narrow, twisty gravel road, (after all, a 1,000 foot drop two feet from your car does wonders for your concentration), on a wide smooth concrete road through rolling hills it is all too easy to become blasé - until you round a corner at 80 kph and find a rock or mudslide, wash away, or even the local farmer’s carabao sitting sunning itself on the road ahead!

Like any other country, driving in the Philippines does have some of its own specific quirks, but as long as you are aware of them, driving here is as simple and safe as anywhere else. The safest rule when driving in the Philippines is to drive defensively – and always expect the unexpected.

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