Safe driving

Despite numerous reminders about driving safely, five vehicular accidents were recorded between daybreak and noon yesterday – one in Taal town in Batangas and four at the North Luzon Expressway.

People were preparing breakfast at a roadside eatery in Barangay Carsuche in Taal when a 10-wheeler Isuzu truck smashed into the area before 6 a.m. The two carinderia owners, three of their employees and two other persons were pinned to death. Four others were injured and rushed to a hospital.

Police reported that the truck, which was laden with sugarcane, was parked by the roadside when it was struck by another 10-wheeler truck whose driver had lost control of the wheel. The parked truck also damaged five other vehicles. Probers said the two trucks belong to the same company.

At the NLEX, at least two persons were injured in four vehicular accidents yesterday morning. The two were hurt in a three-vehicle collision before the exit in Angeles, Pampanga. Near the same exit, a van tipped over after one of its tires blew out. Eight vehicles also figured in a pileup on the northbound lane near the same exit. A five-vehicle pileup also occurred at the NLEX exit in Mexico, Pampanga.

Police attributed the accidents mainly to either failed brakes or driver error. The same reasons have been blamed for most of the vehicular accidents in the past years. Buses, trucks and jeepneys in particular often lack regular maintenance, with defective brakes discovered only when it’s too late.

Drivers have also ignored speed limits and warnings against tailgating. The reminders are disregarded even along steep, winding mountain roads. Only last Tuesday, 19 people died including the driver when a Dimple Star bus plummeted into a cliff in Sablayan, Oriental Mindoro. Survivors said the driver had shouted that the bus had lost its brakes.

Millions of Filipinos are traveling this weekend. With careful driving and proper vehicle maintenance, accidents can be prevented and lives saved.