Human error is most common cause of road accidents – BCPO
Ninety-six percent of road crashes and road-related accidents that transpired from January to June 2024 are due to human error based on the records of the Baguio City Police Office.
BCPO City Director PCOL Francisco Bulwayan Jr., reported a total of 401 road crash and road-related accidents for the first semester of the year where 384 are caused by human error and 17 are due to mechanical defects.
Majority or 83 percent of the recorded road accidents involved vehicles and only 17 percent involved motorcycles.
Of the total accidents, 380 or 95 percent involved local residents.
Most of the vehicular and motorcycle accidents transpired at the central business district particularly along Session Road to Governor Pack Road followed by Cabinet Hill-Teacher’s Camp, Saint Joseph Village, Legarda-Burnham-Kisad Road and Pacdal area.
The BCPO noted that vehicular and motorcycle accidents mostly happen from 9AM to 3PM along roads with inclined slope and along straight-flat roads. Minimal incidents were noted along curved roads.
Last year, the BCPO recorded a total of 1,064 accidents where 490 incidents transpired during the first semester still involving mostly four-wheeled vehicles.
Gleaning on the data, Bulwayan reminds motorists to adhere all laws related safety of drivers and pedestrians such as RA 8750 or the Seatbelts Use Act of 1999; RA 10054 or the Motorcycle Helmet Act of 2009; RA 10931 or the Anti-Distracted Driving Act; RA 10586 or the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act; City Ordinance Number 7-2010 or the King of the Road Ordinance Of Baguio City; City Ordinance Number 49-2019 which Prohibits and Regulates the use of Mobile Devices and other Distracting Devices and items while walking and crossing the streets and sidewalks in the City of Baguio.
Particularly, Bulwayan said there is a need to amend City Ordinance Number 18-2019 or the Speed Limit Ordinance of Baguio City where speed limit at the central business district and other major thoroughfares is set at 20 Kph while for inner roads, the speed limit is set at 30 Kph.
“Based on statistics, most of the cause of road crash incidents is human error. We believe that if the speed limit in the entire thoroughfares of Baguio City is set at 20 Kph to all types of vehicles, the road crash incidents will be lessened and the enforcement of the said ordinance will be easier due to uniform speed limit of vehicles,” Bulwayan said.
At the same time, Bulwayan recommends the promotion of alternative modes of transportation such as use of public transportation, cycling and walking to reduce the number of vehicles plying the city roads. – JM Samidan
