Pickup Driver Suspended After Gun Threat on QC Tricycle Driver

A pickup truck driver in Quezon City faces a lifetime driving ban after pointing a firearm at a tricycle driver during a road altercation. The Land Transportation Office has slapped the suspect with a 90-day preventive suspension, proving that the long arm of the law protects the everyday working man from road bullies.

How a Road Dispute Escalated into a Gun Threat

It takes guts to face the barrel of a gun. For tricycle driver Alexander Mata, that courage did not come from a weapon, but from the thought of his children waiting at home. The confrontation began on a two-way street in Barangay Nagkaisang Nayon, where a parked vehicle forced the pickup truck into the opposite lane.

Instead of yielding, the pickup driver ate up Mata's lane. When Mata stood his ground, the driver stepped out and challenged him.

He crossed into my lane, then got out and said, 'Let's see who's tougher here, look at me.' I told him, how can it be you, sir, when I was the one in the proper lane?

Mata, knowing he was right, tried to deescalate the situation. He backed up to let the pickup pass. But the bully was not done. As Mata left the subdivision to drop off his passenger, the pickup cut him off again. This time, the driver stepped out brandishing a firearm.

I told him, 'Boss, please don't do that.' He replied, 'Do you want me to empty all these bullets into your head?' After that, I stayed silent.