Accidents happenmb8, but there are ways of minimizing the risks. In the case of vehicular accidents, proper maintenance for roadworthiness combined with defensive driving can promote safety. Yet too many vehicles, especially delivery trucks, buses and other public utility vehicles, have figured in accidents across the country because their brakes malfunctioned.

The latest case left four people dead and at least 26 others injured during the evening rush hour on the northbound lane of the Katipunan Avenue flyover in Loyola Heights, Quezon City. Probers said a 10-wheeler wing van had struck a vehicle, and both plowed into other vehicles. Three men and a woman died at the site. The injured were rushed to different hospitals.

The pile-up, which caused a horrendous traffic jam in one of the busiest routes in Metro Manila, involved the truck, a bus, an L300 van, five cars and 16 motorcycles. Truck driver Richard Mangupag, who initially fled but was later arrested, said he lost control of the vehicle after its brakes failed. Probers said the truck was not speeding.

Mangupag will face charges for reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide, multiple physical injuries and damage to property. The most productive years of his life are effectively over. But what about the owner of the truck? Shouldn’t the owner bear some responsibility for the brake malfunction? Isn’t there a requirement for persons or entities engaged in logistics services and public transportation to subject their vehicles to regular maintenance for roadworthiness?

In May this year, the Department of Health reported that on average, 12,000 people die in the country each year from road accidents, from car crashes and pedestrians getting hit by speeding vehicles. Last year the World Health Organization reported that road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death among Filipinos 15 to 29 years old, and a major killer among children. Such injuries cost about 2.6 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, the WHO reported.

Road traffic deaths had increased by 39 percent between 2011 and 2021, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed. The numbers dropped during the pandemic lockdowns, but surged again with the lifting of mobility restrictions.

The WHO had partnered with the Department of Transportation and several groups in May last year in launching the Philippine Road Safety Action Plan 2023-2028. The latest deadly accident shows the need to ramp up the implementation of the plan and promote road safety.mb8

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