Deadly Batasan Road accident should urge policy change on road safety, says Rep. Biazon

The road accident that killed five people and injured eight others in Quezon City on Thursday should highlight the need for a policy change on road safety, Muntinlupa Representative Ruffy Biazon said Friday.

In a statement, Biazon said the incident, which caused a nine-vehicle pileup and a massive traffic jam on top of deaths and injuries, should urge the government to prioritize the creation of a National Transportation Safety Board.

Further, Biazon said analysis of road accidents should go beyond human error claims.

"It is about time that we put a science to the determination of the cause of accidents beyond accepting claims like what the driver of the truck involved in the San Mateo- Batasan Road crash said that there was failure of the brakes," Biazon said.

The driver of the trailer truck that plowed through several vehicles along San Mateo-Batasan Road after its brakes malfunctioned has turned himself over to the police.

Biazon said he had filed a bill seeking to establish such a body way back in the 12th Congress, but "it has not gained momentum in spite of the repeated occurrence of transportation tragedies on land, sea and even air."

Under House Bill 1725, the National Transportation Safety Board's goals are to prevent future crashes and their consequences to life and property, to provide assistance to survivors and families and victims of transportation incidents; to ensure transportation safety standards are met, and to thoroughly probe road crashes.

A Senate bill filed by Senator Grace Poe in 2014, and again in 2016, also calls for the creation of the same body, along with the promotion of cost-effective measures for the transport sector and the commuting public.

Both bills are pending before their respective committees.  — Nicole-Anne C. Lagrimas/RSJ, GMA News