Roads have become unsafe especially for motorcycles and tricycles that cross the highway and compete for space with huge trucks, vans and cars. The recent bus collision in Nabunturan town last Monday that killed seven people and injured 30 others once again brought to the fore the problems we have on road safety.
Yesterday, city police director Sr. Supt. Alexander Tagum, vowed to strictly implement traffic laws 24/7 with their newly acquired equipment and some 180 police deputized by the Land Transportation Office to man the campaign against drunk driving and other traffic violations. Tagum said this campaign started last December when a family was killed when the motorcycle they were riding rammed into a truck in Calinan District.
A study undertaken by Rappler on road crashes show that according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) the number of deaths due to road crashes has been increasing since 2006. The latest available data show that 10,012 people died due to road crashes in 2015 – a 45.76% increase from 6,869 deaths recorded in 2006.
Police that will be deployed in strategic areas of the city will also wear badges that say “No to Kotong” and “No to Unsafe Driving” badges to caution offenders from bribing cops. This is part of the transparency effort of the police. Tagum vowed to relieve police officers who are on duty if another road crash will take place in their area of responsibility. Further, he vows to resign if he fails to fulfill the order of Mayo Sara Duterte on the implementation of traffic laws.
Road crashes can be prevented and we have mechanisms in place that can make this happen. Following the speed limit, wearing of helmets and anti-drunk driving are just some of the measures we can do to make our streets safe for all of us.
