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The numbers tell part of the sad story. Figures cited by the United
Nations (UN) Development Account, which is tasked with improving
road safety worldwide, put traffic-related deaths at 1.2 million a year
and injuries at more than 40 million globally. The UN considers it a
public health crisis on the same scale as AIDS, malaria and
tuberculosis.
The World Health Organization (WHO), for its part, estimates that
between 2000 and 2015, 20 million deaths and 200 million serious
injuries caused by road accidents will occur, with hundreds of millions
of people more left to suffer the loss of loved ones or to care for
surviving victims. In its 2000 figures, WHO ranked road accidents the
seventh biggest killer in the world, and by 2020, WHO forecasts it
would rise to the third spot, behind only heart disease and suicide.
As part of a regional road safety program for the Philippines, the Asian
Development Bank (ADB) and Asean published an Accident Costing
Report that identifies the damages a road accident incur in what’s
called “cost component categories.” Topping this list is lost output;
pain, grief and suffering; medical costs; property damage; and
administrative costs. Done to quantify the costs, what this list
illustrates is that road accidents are clearly never simple, with effects
that reach far beyond what appear on the surface.
International efforts
Philippine setting
Things are not exactly ideal in the Philippines with regards to road
safety—which is only consistent with its developing-country status. The
ADB-Asean Regional Road Safety Program: Philippines Country Report
identified, among others, the Philippines’ inadequate provision for
public transportation as a road safety problem, as commuters waiting
for rides spill onto the streets, putting themselves at risk.
It also noted that while the country’s sidewalks are “relatively in good
condition,” numerous obstructions like illegal vendors, electrical posts
and even police and barangay outposts render the sidewalks unusable
for pedestrians—who are then left to walk on streets as a result. The
lack of pedestrian bridges contribute to the problem, too, which is
further compounded by the fact that many pedestrians also do not use
most of these bridges for varying reasons, security, inconvenience or
plain laziness chief among these.
The ADB-Asean report said the country’s traffic signs and markings
have “generally followed” international standards that were set in the
Vienna Convention for traffic signs in 1968—of which the Philippines is
a signatory. However, the report also said that many traffic signs still
do not conform to standard color and shapes, and noted that in highly
urbanized areas, these signs could “hardly be recognized [much less
read] as they compete with giant billboards in visibility and
craftsmanship.”
Local initiatives
In 1996, the DOTC was tasked to coordinate all road safety activities in
the country and serve as chair of the National Road Safety Council
(NRSC).
The Philippines’ private sector, for its part, is markedly more active in
road safety initiatives. Not surprisingly, heading the list of
organizations are auto manufacturers and those that are closely related
to the industry.
Ford Group Phils. has several road safety programs designed for youths
that are presently being conducted, some of which are in partnership
with the Tuason Racing School, which has also embraced road safety as
an advocacy. Ford allots a certain amount from every vehicle it sells to
fund its road safety program, too.
For several years, and along with its massive environmental efforts,
Toyota Motor Phils. has likewise been very active in road safety
projects. Working closely with the Automobile Association Phils. and the
University of the Philippines National Center for Transportation Studies
(UP-NCTS), Toyota has recently designated the UP Diliman campus as
a traffic city model from where the youth can learn safe road practices.
Toyota is involved or funds other road safety programs as well.
Honda Cars Phils. and its motorcycle arm, Honda Phils., have taken
significant steps too by establishing a huge facility that’s dedicated to
road safety. Called the Honda Safety Driving Center (HSDC), it offers
training courses for drivers and motorcyclists in a controlled
environment.
Doria adds, “Honda enjoins the private sector to band together in this
campaign as road safety is everyone’s concern, regardless of one’s
preferred brand of vehicle.”
With driver error as the most common reason in road accidents, the
ADB-Asean report recommends the government should implement
stricter drivers’ licensing and drivers’ education programs. It also calls
for campaigns to prohibit street children, vendors and others from
roadways, and for concerned government agencies to improve their
data collection. The report frowns on the trial-and-error
experimentation presently being conducted with regards to traffic
schemes. It also says the basic attitude on traffic issues of everybody
concerned should be improved.