Driver PH aims to lessen road accidents
to Metro Manila Development Authority’s (MMDA) Accident Reporting and Analysis System in 2019, truck accidents comprise 15.33 percent of total road accidents with 98 deaths in the country.
To help make our roads safer, the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) together with the Technological Institute of the Philippines (TIP) and Quicktrans Cargo Moving Inc. officially inked the research collaboration agreement to develop software and hardware solutions to train Filipino truck drivers using Internet of Things (IoT) via a virtual signing ceremony.
As the Philippine economy progressed in the past decade, evidenced by the expansion in the trucking industry, there is also an increase in demand for qualified professional truck drivers and helpers in fleet management and operations.
However, the training of qualified drivers cannot cope with the increasing demand, leaving industries no choice but to accept underqualified and inexperienced drivers which often causes road accidents, costly insurance premiums, and increased risk in trucking operations.
The collaboration underscored the implementation of the project called Drivers Roadworthiness Improvement Verification Education and Readiness for the Philippine Logistics Industry or Driver PH, which seeks to minimize road accidents by analyzing and evaluating truck drivers’ competence on the road.
The project combines information communication technology solutions to monitor and record the driving attitude of drivers such as their sudden acceleration, stopping, swerving and turning.
Engr. Felizardo Reyes, Driver PH project leader, said that they are currently working on the learning modules, webinars, and other materials for the learning platform.
Dr. Enrico Paringit, executive director of the DoST-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DoST-PCIEERD) as the monitoring agency, said that the potential of this project is limitless and can be adopted in different transport sectors such as bus, jeepneys, taxis, TNVS, and even tricycles.