HOPE IN NEXT-GEN ROAD USERS
EDUCATING CHILDREN MAY YET HOLD KEY TO ROAD SAFETY, END TRAFFIC WOES
TO develop a patriotic, responsible and concerned citizenry that can contribute to national development and in addressing the problems on traffic and road safety, several lawmakers are pushing for the passage of measures educating Filipinos on proper road use.
According to Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte, road traffic injuries are a global problem, affecting about 1.25 million people around the world each year.
In the Philippines, he said, road accidents were the fourthleading cause of mortality from 2008 to 2013, with the working age group—15 to 64—as the most vulnerable to these types of accidents.
“The common causes of these accidents are speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol, nonuse of motorcycle helmets, seatbealt and child restraints, and distracted driving,” he said.
The lawmaker said a truly welldesigned system would accommodate the tendencies of human error, as well as take into account the welfare of those involved.
“Well-being and safety should be instilled in every person through holistic, formal education,” said Villafuerte.
That’s why he filed House Bill 6223, or the Road Safety and Comprehensive Driver’s Education Act, which seeks to include a comprehensive driver’s education in the latter years of the enhanced basic education K to 12 program.
The lawmaker said formal education is needed to prepare young citizens, both those availing themselves of a license or not, to be better knowledgeable on road-sharing rules and basic road safety.
“This mandatory integration in the curriculum will also include the rights and responsibilities of drivers to better equip our future motorists on rules and regulations on driving safety and car passenger safety,” he said.
Villafuerte said this bill will convene the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education, the Department of Transportation, the Land Transportation Office, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority into an ad hoc curriculum committee to construct a syllabus on basic road safety and a comprehensive driver’s education subject.
1-Ang Edukasyon Party-list Rep. Salvador Belaro is also pushing for the passage of his HB 4247, or the proposed Basic Road Courtesy and Appropriate Street Behavior Education Act.
Belaro said his proposal seeks to integrate lessons on basic road courtesy and appropriate road behavior in the curriculum of basic education.
“We have heard of several crimes arising from road rage. It has also become a common street scene how disrespect is shown not only to motorists and pedestrians,” he said.
“Now, more than ever, there is a need to correct such inappropriate behavior in our roads and streets,” he added.
According to the lawmaker, the first step should come from “our very own homes, but it should be reinforced by our formal education system by including lessons thereon in the appropriate subjects in the school curriculum.”
Davao del Sur Rep. Mercedes Cagas also wants to teach students traffic rules and proper behavior and road safety by including in the curricula of elementary and senior high school a subject on road safety and traffic education.
Cagas’s HB 1614, or the Student’s Road Safety and Traffic Education Act, mandates the DepEd to include a subject on road safety and traffic education.
In the Philippines, she said, the increasing number of traffic accidents can be attributed mainly to ignorance and a flagrant disregard of laws on road safety.
“Data on the attempts to curb traffic law violations have been dauntingly ineffective,” she said.
Citing the World Health Organization (WHO), she said the Philippines got a 5 out of 10 rating in the implementation of the Seatbelt Use Act of 1999; and a 6 out of 10 rating in the implementation of the Motorcycle Helmet Act of 2009.
Also, she added, the country got a dismal 1 out of 10 rating in the implementation of the AntiDrunk and Drugged Driving Act of 2013.
“The WHO report also pointed out that the Philippines still lacks a law banning the use of mobile phones and other gadgets while driving,” she said.
It is unclear why the WHO report did not count the anti-distracted driving law as legislation for this purpose.
Education is an integral part of solving the stark disregard of road safety and traffic rules and regulations, Cagas stressed.
“If the government is bent on curbing the problems on road safety and ignorance of traffic rules and regulations plaguing the country, one of the major keys toward this goal is to change the mindset of the students by educating them and inculcating in their young minds the importance of road safety, the proper use of roads, the different laws on driving and other measures that ensure safe road travel,” she said.
Thus, this bill aims to integrate a separate subject to be called Road Safety and Traffic Education in the curricula of the elementary and senior high-school students.
Another lawmaker, Rep. Ruffy Biazon, also seeks to mandate the inclusion of road use and safety in the elementary education.
Biazon said his HB 1249, or the Proper Road Use Education Act, is intended to inculcate the value of proper use of roads during the formative years in order to develop discipline and concern for others among our people while using our roads.
“This, in turn, is envisioned to contribute in improving our traffic situation and accidents,” he said.
He added precious resources are wasted due to the worsening traffic situation in Metro Mania and other major urban centers.
Biazon, quoting Japan International Cooperation Agency, said traffic congestion cost the Filipino people around P2.4 billion in 2012 and this is projected to rise to about P6 billion daily in 2030 if nothing is done to address it.
“The lack of discipline in our roads has also given rise to the issue of their safety. In the National Capital Region alone, there were about 95,615 road accidents in 2015, according to the Road Crash Statistic Report of the MMDA. This may also reflect at how easy one can get a driver’s license in our country,” he added.
Biazon quoted some experts listing three major factors which influence road safety—the state of the roads, mechanical conditions of the vehicles and the behavior of road users—be they motorists, pedestrians, cyclists, vehicle passengers and passengers of public transport.
“It is the behavior of road users that is the subject of this bill, as it intends to instill discipline in the road among our people at an early stage,” he said.
“It is hoped that through this proposed measure, we will be able to inculcate in our people at the stage where we are still molding their characters, that they should not only be concerned with themselves when using roads. Concern for the well-being and safety of others should be primordial to anyone using our roads,” he added.
Safe Steps Road Safety
ACCORDING to the group Safe Steps Road Safety, globally 1.3 million people are killed on roads every year, while 500 children are killed on the road every day.
It said road crashes are the No. 1 cause of deaths of 15 to 29 year olds.
“This continues to be a lifethreatening issue to individuals and their families, not just in Asia, but across the world in both developing and developed markets,” the group added.
Safe Steps Road Safety aims to raise awareness and provide easy-to-understand educational messages on road safety to help save and protect as many lives as possible.
Traffic, transport management
FOR its part, the MMDA said its Institute of Traffic Management (ITM) is offering courses focused on producing well-rounded traffic personnel in every road and corner, and raising the level of consciousness and awareness on road safety of the drivers, children and the general public.
The MMDA said the ITM seeks to professionalize and continuously upgrade the competence level of traffic and transportation management professions, including traffic law-enforcement officers, road safety practitioners, highway engineers and planners.
Also, it added the ITM envisions to become the premier educational institution for training and continuing education for traffic law-enforcement officers, road safety practitioners, emergency and traffic incident responders and other knowledge seekers in the country.
Included among its courses are Traffic Management Course for Traffic Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) of Local Government Units, Special Course in Traffic Law Enforcement and Management, Special Course in Traffic Incident Management, Special Course for Road Construction Workers/Flagmen and Special Course in Traffic Engineering and Management.
On Road Safety Education Courses, the MMDA said the ITM offers Road Safety Education for Drivers of Public Transport Services, Road Safety Education for Government Drivers, Road Safety Education for Drivers of School Transport Services, Road Safety Education for Corporate Drivers, Road Safety Education for Drivers of Freight Transport Services, and Road Safety Education for Children.
“ITM promotes road safety awareness by undertaking continuous information and education campaign among children drivers and general public,” the MMDA said.