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By Maricel V. Cruz, Reporter
Road accidents in the country
have alarmingly increased.
Lack of discipline among
individuals is primarily the reason for the increase.
Data received by The Manila Times
from the Highway Patrol Group of the Philippine National Police
(formerly known as the Traffic Management Group) indicates that for
the past six years, cases of road accidents, involving all types of
motor vehicles, increased by a huge percentage—from a total of
5551 cases in 2002 to 11532 in 2007.
Worst, in between those years,
2003, 2004 and 2006 chalked up the highest traffic accidents cases:
16361 in 2003, 14202 in 2004 and 14783 in 2006.
2007 shows an improvement, with
only 11,532 cases.
In 2004, the HPG-PNP
recorded a total of 14202 cases and it was quite lower in 2005 at
11425.
There might be slight decrease in
traffic accident cases but then the traffic accident situation as a
whole never improved.
First half of 2008
The number of traffic accidents
during the first half of 2008 continued to increase from 1,532 in
January to 1,648 in June. The HPG-PNP data, however, recorded a
decrease, for instance, in February, 1,078 compared to January and
in May, 1162 compared to June. But then again, the decrease in
numbers is never sustained to become a trend.
In recording traffic accidents,
authorities have to consider several factors such as the time of
occurrence of accident: daytime/ nighttime; the number of persons
injured, if fatal, serious injury or minor injury; causes of
accident, such as driver’s error, drunk driving, mechanical
defect, over speeding, using cellular phones while driving, road
defect/ under repair, hit and run, bad overtaking, bad turning,
overloading self accident, among others.
They also record the place of
occurrence or if it is in a national road, an expressway, a
provincial road, a city road, a municipal road or a barangay road.
The type of vehicle is also very
important—bus, truck, automobile, jeep, tricycle,
motorcycle/scooters, and others.
HPG-PNP Spokesperson, Police
Superintendent Erwin Rey Butacan, told The Times that most of
traffic accidents occurred are in city roads and in national roads.
In provincial roads, too, because motorists tend overspeed or get in
trouble when passing through narrow, rough roads.
Within the past six years, the
highest frequencies of accidents on national road were chalked up in
2004 and in 2006: 4,028 and 4,300, respectively.
In provincial roads, the highest
number of accidents occurred in 2003, at 2,588. In city roads, it
was also in 2003, when the HPG-PNP recorded the highest frequency at
5,591.
And the most common cause of
accident, Butacan pointed out, is driver’s error.
Based on the PNP data, the
highest number of driver’s error cases was recorded in 2004 at
4,319.
“Karaniwan ng driver’s error
yung inaantok… sa pagod… Most driver’s error from
sleepiness…tiredness,” said Butacan. He is also the station head
of the Central Motor Vehicle Clearance Office of the HPG-PNP at Camp
Crame.
Butacan’s insights are shared
by the Safety Organization of the Philippines (SOPI), a non
government organization “dedicated to preserving life, promoting
health and protecting the environment.”
Ms. Gelay Ombao, in-charge for
the Safety Division of SOPI, said that available statistics in their
office would also show that traffic accidents occur mostly in the
national and in city roads.
Region XI (Davao Region) has the
highest number of road accidents, Ombao said, citing 2006 and 2007
statistics from the Department of Public Works and Highways. The
lowest is Region VI (Western Visayas) at a surprisingly zero
incident.
For Metro Manila, in the same
years, Quezon City chalked up the most number of road accidents, at
17,292 in 2006 and 14,394 in 2007, while Pateros had the lowest, 130
in 2006 and 159 in 2007.
Like Butacan, Ombao said the
reasons behind the road accidents are commonly drivers error such as
being inattentive/ driving too fast, disobeying sign and traffic
lights, avoiding pedestrians/animals crossing, bad overtaking and
“alcohol suspected” or drunk driving.
She added driving a defective
vehicle is also a factor that causes road accidents, which includes
a flat tire, lost brake, or a tire exploding. She also believes that
driver’s error is the most common reason why road accidents
happen.
In the past two years, Ombao
surmised that road accidents decreased based on the computed average
per months’ record of 2006 to 2007.
The DPWH data, which Ombao is
citing as reference, noted the average accident per month is
increasing. For 2007, the average is 600.7/ month and for 2006, the
average is 635/ month. On the other hand, the average accident per
year was 7,414 (from the record of 2006 to 2007).
“The decrease happened because
our road users are now being made aware of road safety and the
government continuously implements programs that will have an effect
of reducing road accidents,” Ombao pointed out.
As per statistics, both the PNP
and the SOPI believed that motorcycles are the vehicles most often
involved in road accidents.
The HPG-PNP records indeed prove
that accidents involving motorcycles increased significantly from
626 in 2002 to 3,286 in 2003; 3,010 in 2004; 2,798 in 2005; 3,491 in
2006 and 2,816 in 2007.
For the first half of 2008, the
PNP recorded a total of 529 motorcycle accidents.
Both in Metro Manila and in the
provinces, Butacan said there is a prevalence of motorcycle
accidents.
“When you are using a
motorcycle, you should be a trained, motorcycle expert,” Butacan
advised, noting that an individual using a motorcycle must have to
balance well his or her body weight with the weight of motorcycle he
or she is using.
Ombao of SOPI agreed. “We can
minimize motorcycle accidents by training our motorcycle driver/
rider in Defensive Driving Techniques and skills.”
“Kasi yung weight nyan (mas
magaan)… at yung weight mo mas mabigat, pag sumakay ka, ang
tendency gumilid ka lang ng konti, pwede kang tumumba,” Butacan
added.
One factor also for motorcycle
accidents, the HPG-PNP spokesperson added, is when one is using a
small motorcycle or a scooter and passing thru rough roads.
Ombao pointed out “scooters and
motorcycles are the most unsafe mode of transportation.”
“Drivers should be equipped
with personal protective equipment such as headgear,” she said.
On the part of the PNP, Butacan
said they enforcing the use of helmets as much as possible.
“Yung mga motorists minsan
nagagalit sila kasi hinuhuli ang walang helmet… actually that’s
part of the road safety program,” he said.
Ombao also said that a separate
lane for scooters and motorcycles can help prevent accidents.
The PNP also supports proposals
to have separate lanes for motorcycles. “We cannot control the
influx of motorcycle here in the Philippines,” Butacan pointed
out, noting that the use of scooters and motorcycles becomes a
necessity especially with the unstoppable increase in fuel prices.
“So everybody is using motorcycle.”
On the use of helmet, Butacan acknowledged that the Congress should
pass a law. The law should clearly define what quality or kind of
helmet should be used by motorists to ensure their safety.
PNP’s road accident
prevention programs
The PNP has its Road Safety
Program.
Butacan explained that the
program includes the police patrol operations, not merely for
purposes of police visibility but more of “to protect and secure
motorists.”
Also part of the program is for
the highway patrol police to provide the public a “daily
situationer report” or the DSR which includes condition of roads
in the metropolis or nationwide; weather condition; condition of
bridges, if they are passable or not; and such pieces of vital
information.
The DSR, Butacan said, is issued
within 24 hours of a weather or road condition developing. If the
weather condition is not good or there’s a typhoon, he said, their
office comes out with an hourly report or if the danger is mild just
from time to time as necessary.
If the police find any defect for
instance in a bridge or a stretch of road that affect the safety of
motorists, Butucan said, they call the attention of proper
government agencies and coordinate with them on the problem.
The traffic police also conduct a
thorough investigation involving traffic or road accidents, Butacan
said.
He said the traffic investigation
is crucial because this is where their statistics as well as reports
on the condition of road safety in the country comes from.
Every traffic police
investigator, Butacan said, has to undergo a specialized course in
traffic investigative skills. The course runs for 45 days, and only
the HPG gives it.
He said in that course, every
traffic policeman is trained to measure the types of vehicles, speed
marks and other related matters that have something to do with road
conditions and traffic matters.
Apart from this, he said, the HPG-PNP
is also in the frontline in enforcing Republic Act 4136 or the Land
Transportation Code of the Philippines.
RA 4136 is the existing law being
implemented by the Land Transportation Office on defective
headlights, broken mirror, seatbelts and the prescribed penalties
for violators.
Butacan also said that the HPG-PNP
does not overlap functions with other government agencies that also
deal with road and traffic issues.
“Our main function is the
enforcement of RA 4136. We in the Highway Patrol Group limit our
investigation to crimes involving motor vehicles, stolen vehicles
and the like… we do away with traffic investigation per se. But if
necessary, we do it,” Butacan pointed out.
As far as the PNP is concerned,
its program on road safety is 80 percent effective.
Asked what’s missing with the
program, Butacan said there are some traffic investigations which
they fail to finish because of the refusal of the other party
involved to cooperate with the police.
Butacan noted the investigation
would only take too much time if one party involved in the accident
refuses to cooperate, or never shows up at all to pursue the case.
In those cases, they rule in favor of the party who cooperates with
the police.
The investigation normally runs
for a week, or longer or shorter depending on the preparation report
and the availability of data culled from the investigation.
Meanwhile, the public should
understand that not only the government is taking efforts to make
roads safe for motorists and passengers.
The SOPI, for its part, being an
NGO partner does it share too.
Ombao said “SOPI continuously
formulates programs and executes projects that will enhance road
safety awareness in the country.”
”Our government agencies also coordinates with private
organization in the implementation of the program on road safety
awareness,” he said.
Aside from road the safety
awareness program of SOPI in partnership with the government and
other private organizations and institutions, Ombao said their
organization does provide training of drivers in defensive driving
on a “regular basis.” SOPI also gives away leaflets on safety
tips for pedestrians and other road users giving emphasis to
motorcycle and tricycle drivers. SOPI was founded in 1959, with the
main objective of helping prevent deaths and injuries in the
workplace, at home, and in communities and the roads.
With all of these efforts, Ombao
pointed out, all kinds of accidents can still happen to all road
users. “The drivers should have the responsibility for their own
safety as well as the safety of their passengers. And the they must
not endanger pedestrians.”
To prevent road accidents, one
should be armed with discipline, Butacan stressed. “It’s just a
matter of discipline among ourselves.”
“We can prevent or minimize
accidents if our people are more disciplined. This is for all of us
particularly for drivers, pedestrians, and commuters,” Ombao
pointed out.
She gave the reminder that road
accidents will happen as long as our road users are not aware of
road safety practices.
Efforts by the police and even
private institutions would be useless if Filipinos as individuals
won’t care about safety, Butacan said.
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