EDITORIAL - Improving road safety

In the season of cheer, tragedy struck a family the other day. Makati Judge Reynaldo Laigo and his wife Lilia were driving to church to attend the dawn Mass in Fairview, Quezon City when a bus slammed into their mini Pajero along Commonwealth Avenue. The two were rushed to a hospital but did not survive. The tragedy prompted calls to set up a special traffic unit to enforce rules and go after speed maniacs on Commonwealth, where many deadly vehicular accidents have been recorded.

In fact vehicular accidents have become commonplace in all major thoroughfares in Metro Manila and other parts of the country. Accidents typically involve speeding vehicles. Sometimes the drivers are sleepy; sometimes they are disoriented by drugs they have taken to get them through long drives at night.

Sometimes the vehicles, particularly buses and truck haulers, are in dire need of maintenance checks. Generoso Magante Jr., driver of the Corimba Express Inc. bus that slammed into the Laigo couple’s vehicle, said he had spotted the mini SUV from afar and had stepped on the brakes, but the bus skidded on the road made slippery by rain. Many fatal vehicular accidents have been traced to defective brakes.

Perhaps the death of a judge could lead to some reforms, including making regular vehicle maintenance a requirement for registration as well as the renewal of franchises for mass transportation. Closed-circuit television cameras can also be installed in strategic spots where motorists tend to speed.

In several countries, CCTV systems record violations of speed limits, tracking license plates for the issuance of traffic citations. With the evidence on tape, violators cannot deny their offense. Repeat offenders can see their driver’s license suspended or, in the worst cases, they can be permanently banned from driving. If the government cannot afford such devices, there must be other ways of enforcing traffic rules and improving road safety. Accidents can be prevented.