Road Safety Must Be Everyone's Concern

The statistics are grim. According to the World Health Organization, 1.3 million people have died from road accidents worldwide in 2018. The top 5 countries with the worst road traffic accidents are 1. Zimbabwe, 2. Liberia, 3. Malawi, 4. the Gambia, and 5. Togo, all are in Africa, while the countries with the lowest record of road traffic accidents are 1. Sweden, 2. Japan, 3. Switzerland, 4. Kiribati, and 5. the United Kingdom.

Based on data culled by relevant authorities, 12,000 Filipinos die each year from road accidents. This is higher than the 11,000 plus recorded deaths from Covid-19 from February 2020 to February 2021. What makes this problem more worrisome is that in Metro Manila, the number of road accidents has doubled from 63,027 in 2007 to 116, 906 in 2018. I wonder why the government is not declaring a national emergency to institute a workable solution to bring down the number of accidents.

We can only imagine the economic and societal costs of deaths from accidents. Perhaps, it is about time that society and government act together to address the problem.

Several f factors contribute to the high number of road accidents in the country.

Government Policy

We need a stricter and more transparent process in applying for and getting a driver's license. It is common knowledge that anyone can virtually get a driver's license at any of the offices of the Land Transportation Office (LTO), an agency under the Department of Transportation. It is not a joke when a television station aired how a blind man was able to secure a driver's license. The LTO has a lot of serious work to do to end this kind of stigma. Issuing driver's licenses is just one of the crucial jobs of the LTO that can impact the problem of road accidents. All motorized vehicles under Philippine laws must renew their registration every year. Eliminating old and run-down vehicles from the roads can help reduce accidents. LTO has tried to address this by implementing the motorized vehicle inspection system (MIVS), but unfortunately, this was temporarily suspended because of public complaints regarding the costs and allegation of corruption in the awarding of licenses to private operators of MIVS. I am in favor of MIVS and I hope the government will calibrate the system and make it work as intended, which is to eliminate road-unworthy vehicles from plying our roads.

A Road Sign That Could Kill Instead of Help Motorists in the Southbound Exit of SLEX Carmona, Cavite (2/16/2022)

Driver Education

All motorized vehicle drivers have the duty to educate themselves on road safety, defensive driving, and traffic laws so that every one of them is on the same page. Securing a driver's license is just the start of a driver's journey into the world of proper road usage. Habit-forming practices must be promoted so that memory muscle naturally inclines them to follow what is right. Proper signaling when turning or when overtaking not only promote safety, it also makes for efficient use of roads. Unnecessary braking and slow down of vehicles are avoided when drivers observe proper signaling.

Being able to read road signs is another critical component of driver education. A cursory study on Filipino drivers reveals that the majority of them do not know the meaning of common road signs.

It must be emphasized that pedestrians should also be able to read road signs. As road users, they too should know where to cross and how to use the roads.

Quality of Roads

The quality of Philippine roads is also a factor in accidents. The lack of warning devices/signs on many roads is just as much a danger to road users as drivers who don't understand those signs. The above photo shows just how unmaintained our roads are. Imagine, this is still part of the SLEX jurisdiction yet the SLEX management could not see that the road sign is about to fall and must be fixed right away.

Expressways are becoming notorious for potholes which pose a serious and imminent danger to drivers. For instance, the third lane of the Northbound section of the SLEX in the Alaska factory area of San Pedro, Laguna has numerous potholes that could cause accidents. This problem remains unattended for over a year now.

The presence of trashes and dirt on otherwise quality roads can also cause accidents. Local government units can help address this problem. People should be taught to properly dispose of their litter.

Citizen Discipline

We are all road users. We should practice discipline. Let's obey road signs and traffic instructions. Perhaps, there is truth to the saying that our country's progress depends to a large extent on how disciplined we are as a people.

Photo credit to Philkotse.com