The Supreme Court is reminding transportation officials of their duty to ensure the safety of motorists along the highways by enforcing safety standards on the vehicles themselves.
Transportation personnel owe the public a duty to make sure that all vehicles on the road meet basic safety instead of allowing many dilapidated vehicles on the road that only endanger the lives of other motorists.
“These vehicles not only pose a hazard to the safety of their occupants, but that of other motorists,” said Justice Ruben Reyes, who penned a ruling last week that uphold a decision ordering the driver and the owner of a prime mover to pay 12 people wounded after two vehicles crashed into the stalled prime mover by the roadside.
The SC said, “It is high time, we sounded the call for strict enforcement of the law and regulation on traffic and vehicle registration. Dilapidated vehicles should not be registered because it failed to comply with the minimum safety measures required for vehicles on the road.”
Reyes said the law requiring motorists to have always with them the triangular collapsible reflectorized plates or early warning device should be strictly enforced. “Vehicle owners may also
be arrested and fined for non-compliance with the law,” the SC said.
The SC ruled that the driver and the owner of the prime mover, parked along the national highway in Butuan City, pay the victims P279,832 for actual and compensatory damages, and P35,000 for attorneys fees and litigation costs.
The driver, Cresilito Limbaga, parked the prime mover beside the highway to fix a flat tire. The prime mover has a trailer laden with heavy equipment, and Limbaga left the vehicle without putting an EWD, as required by law.
Hours later, two vehicles crashed one after the other into the stalled prime mover. Twelve people were injured.
The SC said the accident could have been easily avoided if the basic traffic rules and regulations, and road safety standards were strictly enforced. — Rene U. Borromeo/RAE