What REALLY happened to that Mitsubishi Strada pickup hanging off the Skyway rails

July 9, 2015

by benign0

It’s going viral and people have been re-posting and re-sharing it. But what’s not being included in the information accompanying these posts is some much-needed insight or analysis on how a Mitsubishi Strada pickup truck ended up precariously hanging off the rails of the Skyway, an elevated highway south of Manila’s central business district yesterday.

Online motor enthusiast magazine Top Gear Philippines posted the most recent (as of this writing) story about it accompanied by more pictures sent in by witness Francis Aguado who only had this to say…

“It was the bloody railing’s fault,” Aguado offered. “There is a curb that throws your wheels up, and you’re left with a 2ft edge and fake railings! The railing is really an issue. I’ve brought this up before. And they issued a statement claiming the railing was sufficient. But it’s not. It’s just an interlinked joint unlike the old railing we grew up seeing driving up to Tagaytay. Also, the curb is too high. Tires intentionally will try to roll up anything. And that leaves only 2ft or less and then the faulty railing.”

Sure. But this latest mishap follows a more deadly one that happened under similar circumstances. Back in December 2013 a public bus full of passengers also jumped the Skyway rails and fell on the road below killing 20 people. Two of those killed were in a vehicle that happened to be on the road right underneath the falling bus and were crushed to death. The incident was blamed on the sort of usual reckless driving past the speed limit public bus drivers in the Philippines are world-renowned for.

Though not explicitly reported in media outlets that covered this recent incident involving the Mitsubishi Strada pickup, there are a few telltale signs that could be noted. Firstly, the pickup truck is fitted with low-profile tires, which gives us some idea of the sort of character driving it. Second, a vehicle able to jump to a height that almost cleared the Skwyay rails, will have been travelling at a similar speed as that ill-fated public bus in the 2013 accident described earlier. Indeed, in that bus incident, a witness had reported that the bus was travelling way past the Skyway speed limit swerving in and out of traffic lanes. Third, it was reportedly raining at the time the accident happened. Do smart drivers drive a high-centre-of-gravity vehicle fast on a wet road?

Go figure.

[Photo originally exhibited on Top Gear Philippines.]