Too many accidents

Those were chilling sights, the photos and TV footage of the accident last Monday where a speeding bus fell from the southbound lane of the Skyway in Parañaque.

All we got to see were the crumpled bus exterior and the remnants of the van on which the bus fell (miraculously, the van driver survived). One TV news program also showed an animated demonstration of how the bus could have fallen from the Skyway, overtaking a car (according to the car’s driver), then swerving left and right before plunging to the road below. There were even illustrations of the fate that befell a man innocently biking along the service road before a fender from the bus flying through the air hit him on the head.

Most chilling of all, of course, was the sight of bodies laid out in neat rows on the road, covered by newspaper pages. In all, 18 people died in the accident. There was even a news report about a passenger who had been rendered unconscious and then was covered with newspaper pages by bystanders who thought the person was dead. (I can just imagine the shock and terror of those who saw the allegedly deceased person stirring beneath the makeshift covers.)

Speculation has it that the bus must have been overspeeding (police said it was moving at double the legal speed limit) and then hydroplaned on the wet road surface before breaching the Skyway railing and falling to the road below. TV news reports said some of the bus tires were worn out (“kalbo” or bald in local parlance), which may explain the driver’s loss of control.

Occurring as it did so suddenly, and right in the middle of the holiday season, the bus accident has gained a symbolic power far beyond the prosaic details of its occurrence. Already, people are talking about new laws and regulations needed to make our streets safer, and public transport more reliable.

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BUT the unvarnished fact is that road accidents occur too frequently and kill too many people to be dismissed as mere flukes or confluences of unfortunate events.

Data from the World Health Organization show that traffic accidents are the second leading cause of death due to injury in the Philippines. In 2011, according to records gathered by HealthJustice Philippines, there were 8,175 reported cases of fatalities due to traffic accidents. Worldwide, roadside accidents are the leading cause of injury-related deaths.

Too few roads and too many vehicles make for congested conditions of driving, short-tempered drivers, reckless pedestrians, helpless passengers, and situations ripe for any number of collisions, and yes, even buses falling from above. “No destination is more important than the safety of everyone on the road,” reminds HealthJustice.

In its efforts to promote good health practices, HealthJustice has focused its efforts regarding road safety on such measures as encouraging vehicle drivers and passengers to use seatbelts, and motorcycle drivers and passengers to use helmets. It also works for stronger legislation to prevent speeding and drunk driving, while lobbying to make roads safer not just for vehicles but also for pedestrians and cyclists.

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“DRIVER education” has also been cited as a necessary step to bring down the growing number of road accidents. Certainly, if the driver of the fallen Don Mariano bus had known that wet roads combined with speeding (and bald tires) lead to “hydroplaning” and loss of control, he would have thought twice before enjoying the nearly-empty Skyway and indulging his “need for speed.”

How are drivers educated and trained? Bus firms and car owners may demand a valid license before hiring a driver, but how do these drivers get their licenses in the first place? In theory, drivers are expected to go through basic driver education, and pass a written and practical exam before being granted a license. But we all know the many shortcuts available to wannabe drivers, including having someone else take the tests, pay for the “answers” to the written test, and even fake one’s drug test.

Indeed, an “urban legend” has it that a blind man was able to obtain a driver’s license simply by taking advantage of the many available shortcuts.

Also in question is the behavior and awareness of not just drivers but also of passengers. How many car riders, for instance, bother to wear their seatbelts even without a traffic cop in sight? How many motorcycle riders map out unpoliced roads in their routes just to avoid having to wear helmets?

I remember a niece’s American husband marveling at the tricycles filled with passengers plying a provincial road and wondering: “Don’t they have seatbelts?” We all laughed at his naivete, but come to think of it, aren’t they just as—if not more—vulnerable as other motorists?

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THEN there are the attitudes of those who profit from the motoring trade. Take the owners of the Don Mariano bus line. Reports have it that only the driver, who is currently lying in a coma, can be sued by the surviving passengers and the survivors of the fatalities. But what about the liability of the bus line and its owners? Not just for hiring a reckless driver but also for allowing a defective vehicle to ply a route?

Reports also say that the Department of Labor and Employment is looking into the working conditions in the bus line, with drivers (including the one driving the fallen bus) said to be required to work at least 19 hours a day, even as the legal limit, said DOLE, is 12 hours. If the driver of the ill-fated bus was indeed working excessive hours, leading to fatigue and lack of concentration, and thus leading to the accident, then Don Mariano certainly has a lot to answer for.