EDITORIAL - Three for road safety

Accidents involving public transport are usually traceable to three factors — drivers who are undisciplined or lack basic knowledge of traffic rules, improperly maintained vehicles, and lack of traffic rules enforcement by the authorities.

The first factor, involving drivers, can be due for the most part to the shortcuts taken to obtain licenses. For as long as one is willing to pay for these shortcuts, anyone can become a driver even if yesterday he was just a tuba gatherer.

Tragically, it is these drivers who never underwent any of the required requisites to be a responsible driver, who go on to become kings of the road, unmindful of everybody’s safety and incognizant of basic rules and courtesy.

Improperly maintained vehicles, on the other hand, come hand-in-hand with the economics of a bus company’s operations. The deeper a bus company sinks into financial difficulties, the greater shortcuts are taken to ensure proper maintenance of bus units.

And then there is the relaxed atmosphere on the road, where traffic rules enforcement is largely sporadic and off-and-on. There is no regularity whose certainty is its own deterrence against violations.

If only it becomes a matter of consistency that there are traffic enforcers, highway patrol officers, and even ordinary police checkpoints at various stretches of highway, drivers will be forced to be careful, cautious and wary.

Eventually, given the constancy of presence and sightings of authorities, drivers will be driven to take extra care in their on-the-road maneuvers. Not knowing when the next bend may hide an officer will force the driver to ease on the gas pedal and keep their eyes peeled on the road.

Unfortunately, despite the ease and simpleness of these three factors to address, the reasons to ignore them are even much easier and simpler. If there is money to be made even at the expense of safety, it is heartbreaking to find out where the choices will eventually sway.