PUBLIC utility jeepney drivers opposing the new, more stringent motor vehicle inspection requirement –to ensure their road worthiness – prior to the renewal of their registrations have put forward various reasons whys they are against it. One is very interesting: the state of our roads. The government should improve the roads first before getting tough on drivers, they say.
We constantly read and hear reports about vehicular accidents, some fatal, that these appear to have become “normal.” But these aren’t. According to the World Health Organization, about 7,000 Filipinos die each year, and thousands more are injured due to road mishaps. Out of this number, 79 percent are due to driver’s errors, 11 percent due to defective vehicles, and 10 percent due to bad road conditions and ill-maintained roads.
Data from the Department of Transportation show that death toll due to road mishaps rises by almost 14.6 percent every year.
Our roads have become safety hazards in themselves. The government should step up in securing the well-being of motorists and the riding public by upgrading and regulating the country’s road infrastructures. These have been neglected for so long.
A “road safety summit” organized by the Iloilo provincial government some five years ago pointed out several causes of fatal road accidents. Among these were poor road condition; absence of street lights, road signage and other warning signs.
The Philippines is notorious for having one of the worst road conditions in the world. There is a need to put in place regulations that will promote a uniform and consistent standard for the design and installation of road signs, waiting sheds, streetlights, speed bumps and other road infrastructures to promote safety. The government, specifically its Department of Public Works and Highways, should regulate road infrastructures to provide reliable road instructions to motorists and improve road safety in our country.
