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10 bus accidents hit Metro Manila daily


In August, a mother and her three-year old were hit by a Jell Transport bus while crossing EDSA. According to the mother, the bus had stopped and she had raised her arm to signal to the driver that she and her daughter would cross the street. The tragedy that followed was captured by the closed circuit television cameras on EDSA -- a wildly grieving mother bent over a body covered by newspapers. The child was crushed to death while the mother survived, albeit with an amputated right arm. When the bus driver stepped on the gas, the mother lost not just her only child but also her means of livelihood. She was right-handed, and she was working as an encoder. Her doctor says without her right arm, it would be difficult for her to go back to her job. Everyday, 10 bus accidents occurred on the roads of Metro Manila from January to May this year – some more tragic than others. The Metro Manila Development Authority has recorded almost 1,488 bus accidents in the first five months of 2009—a decrease of 23 percent compared to the recorded bus accidents in the same period last year. In 2008, the MMDA recorded a total of 4,825 bus accidents, or an average of 13 per day. The recent tragedy forced 75 Jell Transport buses and around 140 drivers off the streets, as the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulation Board canceled one of the bus company’s franchises. LTFRB chair Alberto Suansing said Jell has seven franchises and over 200 buses. Unsafe roads for pedestrians This year, most of the reported bus accidents – 90 percent—resulted only in damaged vehicles. But the remaining 10 percent resulted in deaths and injuries. Damage and casualties from bus accidents (Jan-May 2009)

Note: This table is a record of the number of accidents resulting in death, injuries and damaged vehicles. The statistics here do not reflect the number of deaths or injuries in the accidents. - Source: MMDA Dr. Rafael Consunji of Safe Kids Philippines says majority of victims in road accidents are people walking on the streets, many of them children. “We’re not a safe country for pedestrians," Consunji says. MMDA records show that bus accidents in Manila from January to May left nine people dead, eight of them pedestrians. Victims of bus accidents (Jan-May 2009)
Source: MMDA Most of the people injured were passengers, 148 of them hurt in bus-related mishaps. Overall, 245 people were killed or injured in bus accidents from January to May. The MMDA report shows that fatal bus accidents happened more frequently during the noon rush hour while those resulting in injuries were more frequent during the morning rush hour between 7 and 8 am. Time of bus accidents (Jan-May 2009)
Source: MMDA “It’s important not to take the line ‘Sino ang may kasalanan’ but [to look into the] bigger problem," Dr. Consunji said. While the MMDA may have its road safety engineering correct when it comes to footbridges, pedestrian lanes, and sidewalks, the problem is enforcement, he said. “Enforcement is inconsistent. Pag nagawa ngayon, pag nakalusot, baka makalusot ulit mamaya, bukas creating the bigger problem [When drivers get away with an offense now, they think they could get away with the same offenses in the future, thus creating the bigger problem]." When it comes to passenger safety, Consunji stressed that several issues need to be addressed: “Is the driver on something? Is the driver mindful of the passengers? Is the bus structurally sound?" In 2004, the World Health Organization integrated road safety into its policies for the first time and called on all member states to address the issue. The WHO made a forecast that in 20 years, road accidents will become the fifth most serious world health problem.
QC has the highest number of bus accidents In Metro Manila, Quezon City registered the most number of bus accidents from January to May – 636 or close to half of the total number. Makati was next with 203 bus accidents or 13.6 percent of the total. Pasay ranked third with 157 bus accidents or 10.6 percent. Mandaluyong was fourth with 92 or 6.32 percent of the total number of bus accidents. Metro Manila bus accidents per city (Jan – May 2009) -
Source: MMDA Most of these bus accidents occurred along EDSA. The major bus routes in Metro Manila are all along EDSA: Fairview-Alabang, Fairview-Baclaran/MIAA, Monumento-Alabang, Monumento-Baclaran/MIAA. When compared, the city ranking on the number of bus accidents may be almost correlated to the length of EDSA per city. The places covering the longest part of EDSA in their territories also have the most number of accidents.
*EDSA Monumento in Kalookan to Bay Blvd in Pasay Almost forty percent of EDSA is within Quezon City, the city with the most number of bus accidents. Quezon City is also the biggest city in Metro Manila, with two other major thoroughfares within its area, namely Commonwealth Avenue and Quezon Avenue. Makati, with the second most number of bus accidents, is also second in rank in terms of coverage of EDSA. One-fifth of EDSA is within the area of Makati. Almost 7 in 10 bus accidents in Makati occurred along EDSA. Pasay, the third in terms of the number of bus accidents, outranked Mandaluyong which in fact covers a longer stretch of EDSA. Pasay, however, has within its territory the busy Roxas Boulevard and the airports, plus the crowded commercial hub of Baclaran. Engineer Emilio Lavor, head of MMDA’s Road Safety Unit, assures the public that MMDA is not sleeping on the job. “Naku, andaming proyekto ng MMDA," Engr. Lavor says. These include loading bays along EDSA for bus passengers, designated terminals, and the bus dispatching system. Lavor, however, sends out an appeal to all: “Dapat lang din may disiplina, hindi lang ang pasahero pati driver." - with reports from Jake Soriano and Brenda Barrientos, GMA News Research
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