Road Accidents

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Tuesday, July 01, 2008

The roads that bind us
By Brian Afuang

Traffic-related injuries and deaths come at a staggering cost to society—especially in developing countries like the Philippines

WE are all road users. Poor education, general misconceptions and a low level of awareness have led many Filipinos to mistakenly believe that the issue of road safety impacts only on vehicle owners. But the fact is everybody who uses the streets—be they pedestrians, motorists, peddlers, beggars and the like—all have a stake in the issue, and the lack of knowledge in this regard comes at a staggering cost to lives and the economy. 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. Besides being a public-health issue, road safety is an economic problem as well. The UN contends that in these road accident-related deaths and injuries, “the large majority” came or will come from developing countries and “economies in transition.” WHO, in its World Report on Traffic Injury Prevention, says that between 2000 and 2020 “road traffic deaths will decline by about 30 percent in high-income countries but will increase substantially in low-income and middle-income countries.”

Road crashes cost more than $1 billion a year, the UN says. To relate the cost on a more personal level, it adds an entire family could be impoverished when its breadwinner is killed or injured in a road accident. 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 No less than the UN is heading the initiatives, with its various commissions tackling projects related to road safety in global, regional and local levels. As recently as April 25, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on “improving global road safety” that stressed the importance for member states to use the WHO World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention as a “framework for road safety efforts and implementing its recommendations.” The World Bank (WB) is another organization that’s actively pursuing efforts on improving road safety. While involved with similar projects as those done by some UN commissions, one of WB’s most significant undertakings is its establishment of the Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP). In the GRSP, the WB linked up with auto manufacturers, believing they play major roles and definitely influence road safety outcome through their products. It should be noted, though, that some recommendations in the GRSP differ with some of those in the WHO report. 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.” While the ADB-Asean report cited the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) for the agency’s sidewalk-clearing efforts, it chided the MMDA for closing intersections in favor of U-Turn slots. The ADBAsean report noted that the MMDA’s intention of improving traffic speeds along arterials sacrifices safety concerns in the process. Local initiatives According to the ADB-Asean report, the Philippine government has set up through an administrative order in May 1992 the Interagency Road Safety Committee, which is headed by the secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways, and is comprised by top officials of the Department of Education, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of National Defense, Department of Health, Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the

Safety Organization of the Philippines. 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. HSDC General Manager Arnel Doria says Honda sees it as “a social obligation to spearhead the campaign for improved traffic discipline and help reduce road accidents in parallel with government efforts through the NRSC.” 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.” Speaking of private groups, the Society of Philippine Motoring Journalists (SPMJ) [The author is a founding member—Ed.] has for several years been offering training modules for educators that can be used in high schools. Through funding from carmakers, the SPMJ commissioned the UP-NCTS to create the modules, which have now been used in about a hundred high schools in Metro Manila. The road ahead 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. In other words, it’s everybody’s sense of responsibility and regard for proper traffic practices that will ensure the safety of the roads that bind us all. http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/july/01/yehey/motoring/20080701moto1.html

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