Road, traffic safety in school curriculum sought

MANILA, Philippines - Legislators want road and traffic safet included in the school curriculum of elementary and secondary learning institutions.

Under House Bill 4160,  Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and his brother Maximo Rodriguez Jr. of Abante Mindanao partylist batted for the inclusion of a new subject on road courtesy, discipline and traffic safety education in the curriculum.

The subject should be taught from Grade 1 up to 4th year high school, Rodriguez said.

He said the objective of the bill is to educate the students on the importance of road courtesy, discipline and obedience to traffic laws.

"There seems to be a growing number of traffic accidents in the country which can be attributed mainly to the sheer disregard of traffic laws or ignorance," Rodriguez said.

He cited a report of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2004 stating that road traffic injuries accounted for 2.2 percent of total deaths, making it the 9th leading cause of death many parts of the world.

"WHO estimated that in 2030, road traffic injuries will increase to 3.5 percent making it the 5th leading cause of death only behind heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lower respiratory infections," Rodriguez said.

WHO reported last April 2011, that road traffic accidents deaths in the Philippines reached 8,175 or 1.94 percent of total deaths.

The new subject will include traffic signs and what they mean, rights and obligations of pedestrians, rights and obligations of drivers, rights and obligations of vehicle owners and public utility vehicles, Philippine laws on driving, fines and penalties, and a subject on Local Traffic Codes, among others.

The Department of Education (DepEd) in collaboration with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations to implement the provisions of the Act.