Lesson: It’s time to engineer human error out of Skyway accidents

On December 16, 2013, a Don Mariano bus fell from the southbound lane of the South Luzon Expressway’s Skyway, killing 21 people and injuring 20 more. On Feb. 7, 2014, a total of 14 people died and 32 more were hospitalized when a Florida bus plunged into a ravine in the Cordillera mountains. And last Mar. 1,  a coaster was rear-ended by an SUV and dropped from the same Skyway where the Don Mariano bus fell.

Every time accidents like these happen, the population is jolted from lethargy and starts the analyzing and the finger-pointing. What the authorities and the experts say amuses me: “The roads are unsafe,” “the contractor fouled up the project,” “the road railings are too low,” or “the vehicle was unsafe,” or “it was the fault of the driver.”

Why so reactive? We are no longer in the 19th century when mankind had to wait for something to happen to make the necessary improvements. Haven’t anybody heard of the hierarchy of safety controls yet?

No matter how well-conditioned the vehicles or how well-paved the roads are, the human factor or human error always lurks around a driver behind the wheel.

Instead of arguing that the road railing design is similar to the railings installed in other countries or conform to standards, why don’t we just review the design of what were installed and think of how we can improve it. Standards are just the minimum requirements and serve as a guide; nothing prevents anybody from coming up with designs that go “over and above” the minimum requirements, much so if it is so warranted. So why not engineer that human error out by designing something that works?

The Dec. 16, 2013, and the Mar. 1, 2014 incidents have proven us that the Skyway railing is not effective, so why stick to that design? Let us challenge what exists. One accident is one too many.

—VIR M. FLORENDO,

ehsconsultant646@yahoo.com.ph