Filipino attitude towards safety

The talk on the road nowadays is “distracted driving.” With the furor raised over Republic Act No. 10913, or the Anti-Distracted Driving Law, which took effect on May 18, the Department of Transportation, on advice of several lawmakers, suspended its implementation.

The law focuses on eliminating as many as possible distractions to driving, e.g., using mobile phones while driving or mounted devices blocking the drivers’ line of sight, but the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) need to be better written to avoid arbitrary enforcement by traffic officers.

With the IRR review ongoing, it would be timely to note that a successful implementation of the law involves effective monitoring. Are there sufficient resources dedicated to ensuring compliance by all drivers on the road? Will the use of surveillance cameras be a strong deterrent to violators?

Meanwhile, there are views that any drastic improvement in safety that affects several aspects of our daily lives would involve a change in attitude towards safety.

The Filipino trait of pwede na (good enough) or accepting a condition or situation that is below standard must be replaced by a strong demand for meeting or exceeding standards.

One of this column’s regular reader/contributor, Raymond Tumao, gave the following observation, “The unseen problem in our transport system lies in the culture of Filipino operators who simply want the revenues without considering the safety and comfort of their passengers. The operators know that passengers of cheap transporters like the regular buses, jeepneys and tricycles do not need to have a good looking vehicle as long as it could bring them to their destination at the lowest possible fare.”

Same attitude in shipping

What is striking is that the same observation about attitude of transport owners and operators is pervasive in the shipping industry, particularly among owners and operators of old dilapidated roll-on, roll off (RORO) vessels.

Owners continue to squeeze as much revenues as possible from their over 30-year-old vessels by cutting their cost on operations and maintenance to maximize profits, thus exposing their passengers to the risks of sea accidents.

The operators take advantage of passengers’ attitude of pwede na, thinking that passengers will not raise even a murmur of protest about the condition or age of the vessel as long as they are able to reach their destination at the lowest possible fare.

The problem is that, over the years of unsafe maritime conditions, thousands have failed to make it to shore alive, and millions of pesos of property were lost and destroyed.

More valid points

Tumao’s letter is in reaction to the recent rash of accidents involving provincial buses, and he raises valid points and suggestions on what the government can do. Read on:

“Bus operators have two things to consider when the demand for bus space increases, and these are: a) how many passengers would need extra buses; and b) how much will they have to spend to get a new franchise.

“The government will not or has not given any attention to those overloaded buses because it has been a culture in the industry that the bus conductors allow overloading as a favor to those who are in dire need to travel.

“Besides, if the volume of additional passengers cannot compensate the expenses like fuel, maintenance, toll fees, driver’s and conductor’s pay, not to mention the ‘overpaid’ franchise, there is no reason to expand.

“But what if the government comes up with a program to expand and open new routes for the general public to apply? Instead of encouraging operators with franchises to field more buses, why not open up a ‘Table of Transportation Route Openings’ to the new players, and set up the IRR to allow only brand new buses to run the provincial routes?

“This way the older buses will eventually be retired, and no surplus or reconditioned buses will be allowed to join the new program. Take note we have been the waste managers of the Japanese since post WWII, and each time we buy a surplus bus or a truck from the auctioneers, we are practically helping them get rid of their industrial waste.

“The engineering design done in the open highways, particularly for mountainous trails, does not consider or anticipate the unique causes of accidents except for some road signs that warn winding or slippery roads, dangerous curves, blind corners, etc.

An example is the Dimple Star bus that fell off the Sucat Skyway. If the side barrier was higher than 50 percent of the height of the bus, the fall would not have happened. In the latest bus accident, probers should make public the brand of the bus, when it was built, what tire brand is mounted, and if it is a mechanical or electrical failure, or human error.

Unseen problem

“The unseen problem in our transport system lies in the culture of Filipino operators who simply want the revenues without considering the safety and comfort of their passengers.

“On the other hand, it is the responsibility of the government to provide our citizens a very safe and reliable mode of transportation most especially for mass transport. Accident-prone areas should be improved using the best available tools in safety engineering.

“Limiting the provincial long-haul drivers to six hours is not helpful since the international limit of 16 hours of continuous driving before the driver dozes off unintentionally is longer and is acceptable with almost all civil societies.

“The government should instead concentrate on improving roads, like erecting stronger and higher guard rails, and even planting sturdy trees-like rows of talisay or ipil-behind the rails to break the momentum of free falls.

More realistic assessment

“Lastly, I suggest we hire more transportation researchers to give a more realistic assessment of all the transportation modes we have in the country instead of always being dependent on the studies made by the UP-NCTS, which is actually being supported by the JICA and JETRO.

“I am saying this because I wonder why until today, we still allow the use of Japanese surplus buses and trucks whereas in other developing countries, these old vehicles are already banned. It should be noted that many Japanese heavy trucks and buses have caused accidents and deaths because some parts have reached their useful lives.

“Therefore, I strongly suggest that an (independent) study be made to show the specifics of road accidents in a periodic report format informing our people the benefits of knowing the faults of each type of vehicle and the importance of posting the useful lives of crucial components in their vehicle. This way, our citizens will be more cautious in buying their next vehicle.

“And one last thing, surplus engines imported from Japan do not come with the instrument cluster or gauges, therefore our poor buyers would not know if the timing belt had expired or how many kilometers have been registered in it.”

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Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 25th Floor, 139 Corporate Center, Valero Street, Salcedo Village, 1227 Makati City. Or e-mail me at [email protected]. For a compilation of previous articles, visit www.BizlinksPhilippines.net