Tags: Accidents and Tragedies, Government Offices
By Anna Valmero
QUEZON CITY, METRO MANILA – The death of Binibining Pilipinas 2009 International titlist Melody Gersbach due to a car crash over the weekend has raised alarm on the safety of public transport and provincial highways.
In her blog Adventures of a Beauty Queen, Joyce Burton-Titular, a former beauty queen herself, put the blame on the Land Transportation Office and bus companies.
“Do we have to lose so many precious lives because of your corruption? Your greed? Your incompetence? How many hellish accidents have to happen before you to wake up and realize that this is an easy problem to solve? It’s so simple guys, all you have to do is put the safety of people first (a.k.a. following rules) and then for sure the money will come to you,” she wrote.
It was the latest in a string of road accidents since the start of the year that involved public buses. Just recently, at least 40 people were killed after a Benguet-bound bus fell off a cliff.
Last month, 15 people were killed in Cebu when a bus slammed into a concrete wall; a month earlier, some 21 people, including Iranian medical students, were killed when another bus fell off a cliff in the same province. These incidents are apart from car collisions in Cavite, Aurora and Bataan reported this month.
According to Asian Development Bank (ADB) data, at least a million people figure in road accidents every year, some 60 percent of which happen in Asia-Pacific.
The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) also reported that there were 64,747 road accidents and 266 related deaths recorded in Metro Manila alone in 2009. In 2009, the Department of Health said road accidents was the major cause of injuries.
On any given day, more than 2.34 million vehicles pass EDSA, the main thoroughfare in Metro Manila, according to this PCIJ report. The number of privately owned vehicles continue to rise but the report said the “boorish” behavior of public bus drivers aggravates an already clogged traffic situation.
Poor road construction and missing road signs on dangerous curves and slippery roads have been blamed by motorists for the high incidence of road accidents in the country. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), however, ruled out poor road construction and cited external factors such as mechanical failure for road collisions.
Amid the above mentioned accidents in Cebu, Ceres Bus Liner agreed to let its drivers to undergo regular drug testing and safety training under the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Land Transportation Authority.
But the LTFRB admitted that the present “screening” systems such as drug testing are not enough to keep bus drivers from figuring in deadly accidents.
LTFRB chairman Alberto Suansing said bus drivers tend to drive recklessly in pursuit of passengers. Bus operators, especially those in Metro Manila, usually provide incentives based on the number of passengers.
But current laws only allow LTFRB to punish employers of reckless bus drivers by suspending franchises for a month. The LTFRB can only cancel an operator’s franchise if the company is proven to have a poor track record of road safety.
Also, despite efforts to make it safe for pedestrians such as putting up footbridges, pedestrian lanes and sidewalks, the problem still lies in law enforcement, according to Dr. Rafael Consunji of Safe Kids Philippines.
“Enforcement is inconsistent. Pag nagawa ngayon, pag nakalusot, baka makalusot ulit mamaya, bukas creating the bigger problem [When drivers get away with an offense now, they think they could get away with the same offenses in the future, thus creating the bigger problem],” Consunji said in a report.
A study by the University of the Philippines reported that road collisions had economic and social costs, accounting for 20 percent of “lost” income or amounting to more than P2.5 million collectively per fatal accident.
“It is essential that coordination be made between concerned national agencies and NGOs in the safekeeping of their accident databases and road safety programs. This will identify, correct, and even prevent loopholes in the system. It needs to be reiterated that road safety is not only a transport problem; it is also a social, health, and economic problem as well,” the report said.
Internationally renowned actress Michele Yeoh visited Manila last May to promote public road safety, noting that the government is not the only one responsible.
“As a driver you must be a responsible human being. Be mindful of the pedestrians, of motorcyclists, of cyclists, because they also have the right of way. When you’re safe, that goes a long, long way for the rest of your life,” she said.
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