James Deakin

Dad of 3. Transport journalist. Road safety & policy advocate. Miss Earth Host. Podcaster. Working toward a better transport experience for all

[James Deakin @TransportGuy]

The best car to have right now is a fully paid one. Even if it’s old, like mine. But if you're worried about how to maintain it, just do what I did and head over to AutoQuix - EDSA Balintawak. You get Casa level service, at non Casa prices. For folks like me that love their classic cars but want the reliability of a modern one, it's the best of both worlds-old and new.
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[James Deakin @TransportGuy]

Does anyone know what the hell is going on here?

[DAVAOMIGRANT @nabunturanguy]

Naligaw na naman ako sa Reddit at nakita ko ito. Kawawa naman yung bata na sinapok ng bully na ito. I think he’s being “hunted” now. Ang bata pa, at payatot pa pero napakalakas ng loob mag-bully. I think kasama niya yung naunang nambatok. Oh God, such bullies. I hope they get their comeuppance. They deserve it.

[DAVAOMIGRANT @nabunturanguy]

Naligaw na naman ako sa Reddit at nakita ko ito. Kawawa naman yung bata na sinapok ng bully na ito. I think he’s being “hunted” now. Ang bata pa, at payatot pa pero napakalakas ng loob mag-bully. I think kasama niya yung naunang nambatok. Oh God, such bullies. I hope they get their comeuppance. They deserve it.

[James Deakin @TransportGuy]

@ZubyMusic @DaveySwift Trauma has been so overused that it has been traumatic to people who really suffered actual trauma.

[James Deakin @TransportGuy]

@RT_com Of all the angles to take on this tragedy, you pricks take this? Seriously? WTF is wrong with you?

[James Deakin @TransportGuy]

Hit and RUN! This almost looks deliberate

[James Deakin @TransportGuy]

This is dangerous. He should be on the yelo lane

[James Deakin @TransportGuy]

https://t.co/9XtZ7huPh7

[James Deakin @TransportGuy]

We need to talk about noise.

In Metro Manila, noise has become wallpaper. The price of progress, they say. An invisible tax paid in decibels, they say. You’ll get used to it, they say. And that’s the problem: we do. We are the frog in the pot, and many are dying a slow death where nobody hears your screams.

Noise pollution has become the quiet epidemic of modern life. Some are essential, of course; we accept the roar of a jackhammer or an airplane passing over because it is the sound of a city evolving. But the modified exhaust on a kamote rider’s scooter, or the fully tuned Subaru cracking like a gunshot in a residential corridor? That is the sound of vanity and stupidity.

Yes, regular car engines make noise. Tires make noise. That’s physics, and nobody’s filing a complaint about a Corolla driving past. What people are complaining about is the irresponsible minority who deliberately modify their vehicles to break through the sound barrier, and rev their engines through quiet neighbourhoods, race from light to light, and fit exhausts the diameter of an open sewer specifically to be heard three postcodes away.

There is no need to release the kraken between speed bumps in a residential area, only to crawl over each hump at 1 km/h because your ride height is lower than your emotional intelligence. That's not a byproduct of progress. That's a personality disorder with unresolved mommy issues.

This isn’t a ‘get off my lawn’ rant about fast cars and bikes; this is about basic respect and common decency. If your car came loud from the factory, fine; nobody is hating on that. A finely tuned machine deserves its voice. But it also deserves its place. And anywhere outside a race track or abandoned road just sounds like you’re trying to broadcast the size of your genitals through your tailpipe.

Grow up, man. And think about the overworked single mom that has to lose another 2 hours sleep trying to put her baby back to sleep simply because you needed to feel validated by strangers who never agreed to be part of your therapy session.

Nobody thinks you’re cool. Not even your friends down at the shop. I ran a poll to prove it. I asked whether excessive vehicle noise is a serious problem that should be addressed by law, with stiff penalties for repeat offenders. Nearly 4,000 people responded in 24 hours. Ninety-one percent said yes. The rest said you have a micropenis.

[James Deakin @TransportGuy]

Tourists need to respect our local laws and people or GTFO.

[tim anderson @timand2037]

Israeli tourists in The Philippines, arrogant, abusive and entitled. This culture is bred by colonisation, impunity and constant appeasement.

[James Deakin @TransportGuy]

If video killed the radio star, AI has killed the mechanical car. This isn’t a conspiracy; it’s law, and it’s coming soon to a driver’s seat near you.

Mandated AI cameras will soon measure your expressions, mood, and demeanor to determine if you’re allowed to drive. The future is here, and it isn’t asking permission.

But before we reach the end, we must understand what we’re losing. The argument was never really about cameras or kill switches. It was about what the car meant in the first place.

A car used to be a mechanical expression of who you were—a partner in crime, a best friend on wheels. It was our last true sanctuary. Who among us hasn’t sat in their parked car for five minutes before walking through the front door? Not because you were avoiding home, but because you needed a moment that belonged to no one else. No meetings, no notifications. Just the silence that exists inside your four-wheeled friend.

Despite what it was built for, a car was never solely about getting somewhere. It was about getting away. It was the one place on earth where you could be gloriously alone. Your music. Your thoughts. Your rules.

That room is being taken from you.

It started with benign nudges: a blind spot monitor, a seatbelt chime. But this mandate has evolved. Ford has filed patents for in-cabin cameras that read lips and analyze facial expressions and cross reference it with police databases. Before you’ve done a single thing wrong, your car will have already formed an opinion about you.

This isn’t just Ford. BMW tracks your gaze. GM uses eye-tracking. Volvo, Mercedes, Tesla—every lane is heading in the same direction.

Section 24220 of the 2021 Infrastructure Bill directs the US government to mandate advanced impaired driving prevention by 2027. We’re talking infrared cameras continuously monitoring your eyes and your mood. Last month, a report admitted that even at 99.9% accuracy, false positives could strand millions of sober drivers. Tired eyes? Grief? A blood sugar dip? The camera won’t ask. It will just decide.

What do we lose when we replace the rearview mirror with a black mirror? Driving was an act of judgment. Every time you read a driver’s intention or made the right call in the rain, you were in control. You were needed. The open road didn’t just represent freedom; it was the last place we actually felt it.

The danger is quiet. It’s the 90% of new cars already tracking you every three seconds. It’s your pupil dilation. Your 6 a.m. face on the way to a job you’re not sure about anymore. Nobody’s going to announce the day the car stopped being yours. It’ll happen one software update at a time.

The car was the last room with no cameras. The last place you could cry without an algorithm flagging it. The last place you could exist without being measured or monetized.

It was yours. And it’s being repossessed one patent at a time.

[James Deakin @TransportGuy]

@wagkamote If it’s a legitimate security convoy, like the president, the vice president or chief of the armed forces, then maybe. But that’s the problem. How will you know?

[James Deakin @TransportGuy]

https://t.co/Gs2SfOrq5c

[James Deakin @TransportGuy]

@PeterMcCormack @Heccles94 It’s gotta be a troll account, surely. No real person can have this many bad takes and L’s online as Harry does.

[James Deakin @TransportGuy]

https://t.co/2IEFzwsgsH

[James Deakin @TransportGuy]

@ZubyMusic And the same people will say “nobody forced anyone to take the 🩼

[James Deakin @TransportGuy]

@theswansjr @MiniRetireMatt I wish everyone knew this.

[James Deakin @TransportGuy]

So nice meeting so many passionate people who came out to support the amendment to RA10586. Thanks for for all the support!