EDITORIAL - Promoting road safety

With a long weekend to make way for voting on Monday, there is again heightened travel all over the country. Recent deadly vehicular accidents should have also heightened public awareness of the importance of road safety.

Twelve people including five minors died in the two recent vehicular accidents – one because a driver said he fell asleep at the wheel while approaching a toll exit booth in Tarlac, and the second at the NAIA because the driver said he got confused, making him step on the car accelerator. This human error was aggravated by curbside bollards that failed to stop the vehicle from slamming into the airport wall, pinning victims to death.

Back in April 2023, the United Nations secretary general’s special envoy for road safety, Jean Todt, had expressed concern over the impact of road crashes on the victims and their families as well as the community and the economy.

Families of those injured and lost in road crashes, Todt said in Manila, “carry more than a heavy emotional and physical burden, they also have to face an economic one.”

The World Health Organization reported that 58 percent of the world’s average annual road deaths of 1.3 million occurred in the Asia-Pacific, with Southeast Asia having the second highest road traffic fatality rate of 20.7 per 100,000 population, after Africa with 26.6.

In the Philippines, the fatality rate is 12.3, meaning an average of over 32 people die every day in the country from road accidents while hundreds more suffer severe injuries. The Department of Health noted that 65 percent of road crash victims were motorcycle riders.

Accidents happen, but preventive measures minimize the risks. And the measures sound simple enough. As noted by Todt, wearing certified quality helmets for motorcycle riders, using seat belts and avoiding speeding can save lives and protect from injuries.

The country has rules and regulations in place for these measures, but the problem always lies in enforcement, which can be as weak and ineffectual as the NAIA bollards.

Following the recent accidents, random drug tests on drivers and vehicle inspections for roadworthiness are now being conducted in mass transport hubs. New rules are in place to prevent drivers particularly of buses and truck haulers from dozing off at the wheel. This election weekend will test the implementation of such measures.

As of 2023, the World Bank estimated that the economic cost of road crashes represented 4.1 percent of Philippine gross domestic product. Road crashes, the UN noted, were the leading cause of death in the country for ages 5-29, “injuring and killing not only the economic force but also the hope of the nation.”