SJ4000 for the win!
Love em or hate them, MMDA traffic enforcers have a very difficult job. They face real dangers on the road each day, and we’ve seen time and time again just how dangerous their jobs are. One traffic enforcer, fed up with the aggressive and downright dangerous drivers he sees on the road each day found a novel way to protect himself: an action camera.
Cesar Detera Jr., an MMDA traffic enforcer had the idea after he was hurt in the knees while trying to issue a traffic ticket to a colorum jeepney. “I was hit in the knees by a colorum jeepney. When I tried to issue a ticket to the driver for his violation, he hit me again,” he said during an interview with the Inquirer. After that encounter, he formulated a plan to prevent something like that happening again. After his Australia-based father sent him money, he bought an affordable SJ4000 action camera, strapped it on a helmet and started wearing it while he was out on duty.
According to Cesar ever since he started wearing his helmet, he noticed that motorists would be extra careful about committing any violation. In the age of social media and viral videos, it seems that having a camera pointed at you makes you behave like a perfect citizen. “The drivers are really following (the rules) now. Even before I signal them to stop on a red light, they are already stopping. Unlike before when nothing happened even when I already had my hands in the air,” he says.
And if anything like the jeepney episode happens again? He’s confident that they won’t be able to get away like the last time. “I can show proof (of the violation) for my own protection. The driver cannot just deny what happened and get away with it,” he adds.
The idea of wearing cameras for protection isn’t new – in the US more and more police departments are being asked to equip their officers with body cameras for the protection of both the police and the public. Even the MMDA is on board with the idea, and plan to distribute similar action cameras to their constables within the year.
As for Cesar, well, he’s content with his SJ4000, but he dreams of having upgraded gear in the future.
“My dream actually is to get a GoPro camera,” he says.
