EDITORIAL - Risky ride

President Aquino, brushing aside criticism that authorities failed to secure public buses and terminals despite foreign travel advisories on a possible terrorist attack in Metro Manila, said the advisories mentioned shopping malls but not buses. In fact certain embassies had previously warned their citizens to avoid riding public buses in the Philippines, and those advisories have not been lifted. The warnings remain because the reason for their issuance is still there: buses keep plunging into ravines or figuring in other deadly accidents all over the country.

The latest accident occurred yesterday morning in Quezon province. Police said the Manila-bound Eagle Bus lost its brakes along the winding stretch of Maharlika Highway in Pagbilao and plunged into a 30-foot ravine. Twenty passengers were rushed to a hospital for injuries.

Vehicles need to be properly maintained to prevent malfunction. Most operators of public utility vehicles and trucks, however, skimp on maintenance costs and even in tire replacements. Dirty, poorly maintained engines mean heavy tailpipe emissions that add to air pollution. Bald tires – a feature of many trucks – easily blow out, causing traffic jams. And without regular maintenance, brakes malfunction. As the nation has seen, brakes tend to malfunction at crucial moments, as a bus nears a cliff or when the driver is trying to avoid a collision.

Transportation authorities need not tolerate this. Aside from grounding vehicles and suspending the franchises of operators of buses that figure in accidents, regular maintenance checks can be required for registration of mass transportation vehicles and trucks. People who want payment for providing services to the public must be able to guarantee a basic level of safety for passengers and cargo. This should include ensuring that brakes are regularly checked and necessary parts replaced to prevent malfunction. It should also include imposing discipline on drivers so they drive carefully and understand road courtesy, and do not take drugs to prevent falling asleep at the wheel on long drives.

Even before last week’s bus bombing on EDSA and the hostage fiasco in Rizal Park on Aug. 23 last year, taking a bus in this country was already considered risky. Authorities must not wait for the body count to continue piling up before doing something about this problem.