DAVAO CITY (MindaNews – 7 January) – Two road crash incidents on Saturday, raised Dabawenyos’ concerns on road safety, drivers’ discipline, and efficiency of existing traffic ordinances in a city that prides itself with a “Basta Dabawenyo, Disiplinado” campaign.
On Saturday morning, 23-year old Arnie Pilarca Almanoche of Linamon, Lanao Del Norte, who was driving her motorcycle, was killed on the spot after being hit by a tractor with an attached trailer at 7:40 a.m. near Landmark, Carlos P. Garcia Highway in Sasa, Davao City.
Three hours later, at 10:37 a.m., Erwin Omlero Lawat was also declared dead on the spot after he was hit by a truck in Fausta, Barangay Calinan, Davao City. The victim was driving a motorcycle and when hit, went under the truck.
Police Major Dexter Domingo, chief of the Davao City Police Office-Traffic Enforcement Unit (DCPO-TEU), said his office has recorded a total of 8,473 vehicles involved in road crash incidents in the city from January to October 2023, an increase of 18 percent from 7,187 for the same period in 2022.
The Davao City Police Office-Traffic Enforcement Unit has recorded an 18 percent increase in the number of vehicles involved in road crash incidents from January to October 2022 to the same period in 2022. CANVA photo
TEU-Davao said the top three vehicles involved are private vehicles, accounting for 28 percent of the total incidents, followed by motorcycles at 13%, and trucks at 17%.
Norma Ortiz, a private vehicle driver, said she is skeptical if city ordinances “have really been studied well” prior to their implementation.
She said the newly-amended Speed Limit Ordinance and Truck Ban ordinance are well-established yet ineffective in stopping road crashes in the city.
“Naay usahay mogara ang mga truck, magpapaspas pod og dagan lapas sa speed limit, dugangan pa nimo ug mga motor ug lain pang mga gagmayng sakyanan na magpakilid, so ma-blind spot sila, risgo sa bangga (Trucks sometimes just chose to accelerate beyond the speed limit, and also there are also motorcycles and other smaller vehicles that maneuver in bigger vehicles’ blind spots, posing a risk of collision) ,” Ortiz told MindaNews in a telephone interview on Saturday.
She said she has been driving for 15 years and has noticed that more drivers of smaller vehicles observe strictly the speed limits compared with those of larger vehicles
Mansueto Lim, a motorcycle driver, said Dabawenyos seem to have lost their traffic discipline, and that some motorists will “rather take the risk to drive faster than follow traffic rules”.
He told MindaNews on Sunday that everyone seems in a hurry now and some are confident they can afford to pay the fines imposed by the I must say accidents happen because everyone is in a hurry, and some are confident that they can pay fines imposed by the City Transport and Traffic Management Office (CTTMO).
“For us it’s expensive to pay fines, that’s why we have to be disciplined to avoid road crashes.
Meanwhile, several commentaries were also shared in Davao City Public Information and Inquiry Page, a group page which is “intended to entertain posts of questions and inquiries relevant to the city’s public safety and security support group”.
“There are also young riders who are in a hurry or liquor-influenced,” Jun Celis commented in Cebuano, on one of the recent posts
“There are motorcycle drivers who would maneuver near large trucks and it is very difficult for drivers of large trucks to even see them,” Edwin Ayop wrote, also in Cebuano. (Ian Carl Espinosa/MindaNews)