Unacceptable loss of life

For 12 people, including four kids, what was supposed to be a long weekend ended in tragedy.

A bus of the Solid North Bus Company plowed into four vehicles lined up at the northbound toll gate on the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) last May 1. Twelve are confirmed dead, including four children. According to the ongoing investigation, the bus was travelling at high speed when it collided with the vehicles. The four vehicles were lined up behind a truck when the accident occurred, causing them to be crushed. The bus driver allegedly fell asleep. He is now facing charges of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide, multiple physical injury, and multiple damage to property. Transportation Sec. Vince Dizon has also suspended operations of the Solid North Bus Company due to the involvement of their bus in the accident.

The SCTEX is a long, featureless highway. All you see are empty fields or farmland. No buildings, no establishments. There are gas stations, but they are few and far between. The accident happened a little after noon, so the weather was probably hot. But because the bus was air-conditioned, the passengers were comfortable, including the driver. Maybe too comfortable, causing the driver to doze off.

When a driver becomes sleepy, especially on an expressway, the advice is to pull over at a safe and secure spot and take a nap, even for just a few minutes. Or if someone else can take his place and drive, the better. The same should be done on public buses that travel on highways. There should be two drivers. If another driver were present in the bus, he might have noticed the driver fall asleep and acted accordingly before the accident happened. Or he should have taken his place and allowed the sleepy driver to rest until he was ready to take over again.

Highways also have speed limits, but this is useless if the driver has fallen asleep. Maybe one solution is to put small humps or "rumble strips" a few hundred meters away from a toll plaza so that the entire vehicle shakes when running over them. This would alert a sleepy driver and allow him to slow down accordingly. Sadly, these tragedies are still happening when there are ways to prevent them. It becomes reactionary rather than preventive. Any loss of life, not to mention children, to traffic accidents is unacceptable. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims.