Ever wondered how many people get fined for various violations in Metro Manila throughout the year, and how much money the government earns from it?

Wonder no more: We asked the Land Transportation Office for its latest figures for the first quarter of 2024, and here they are.

The agency announced that no fewer than 10,488 motorists were apprehended in the first three months of 2024.

That’s a whopping 286.4% increase from the same period last year, when only 3,662 people got the dreaded hand signal to slow down and pull over.

Apprehending so many drivers and riders is good for government coffers, with fines totaling P26,498,535 so far this year. That’s a year-on-year increase of 204.91%.

Officials also gave details on the most common reasons drivers and riders got pulled over in the metropolis.

A total of 4,982 motorists were cited for violating Republic Act 4136 (Land Transportation and Traffic Code). Among them were 764 who got tickets for driving around in unregistered motor vehicles, in line with the government’s “No Registration, No Travel” policy.

No fewer than 1,412 were cited for driving vehicles fitted with defective accessories, devices, equipment, or parts, while 699 got fined for driving while wearing slippers (yup, that’s a violation), 556 for not carrying OR/CR, 378 for reckless driving, 221 for driving without a valid license, 139 for disregarding traffic signs, and 124 for obstruction.

Disappointingly, 2,584 people were ticketed for not wearing their seatbelts; 1,064 got slapped with a fine for not wearing their motorcycle helmet; and 39 received citations for violating the Children Safety on Motorcycle Law (R.A. 10666).

On top of that, there were 12 tickets for violating the Anti-Distracted Driving Act (R.A. 10913), and one for driving under the influence of prohibited drugs. One glance at Metro Manila’s traffic should make it clear that these numbers are probably only the tip of the iceberg, but enforcers can’t be everywhere all at once.

The reason why apprehensions and fines are up so much from last year could be one or a combination of things. For starters, the agency has stated that it also deputized staff from the DPWH (although they only seem to have issued a very small number of tickets), and that PNP staff added a total of 1,799 apprehensions to the tally.

That still doesn’t fully explain the huge increase in delinquent behavior on the capital’s roads, but some of it may have to do with the growing number of vehicles. And finally, maybe it’s just getting more lawless out there?