Even as a bus plunged Tuesday into a ravine, killing 17 people, the government yesterday outlined a plan that it said would cut nationwide road accident deaths by 35 percent by the end of the Marcos administration in 2028.

Among the near dozen and a half killed was a Kenyan national after the passenger bus careened off a road on a "killer curve" and plunged down a mountainside, officials said.

The bus was traveling in Hamtic in Antique province when the crash occurred in the afternoon of 5 December, provincial disaster agency head Roderick Train said.

"I call that place 'killer curve'… it was the second Ceres bus to fall from there," Governor Rhodora Cadiao told a local radio station.

"With the many deaths, that road must be abandoned… and another road (must be constructed) to make that area safe," she said, referring to the heavily forested ravine 30 meters deep.

Seven people, including another Kenyan national, were in critical condition while four others were stable in a hospital, said Train, who described the section of the road as "accident prone."

Safety education

Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation on Wednesday laid down its plans for safer Philippine roads.

Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista said during the Asia Pacific Road Safety Observatory 2023 annual meeting at the Asian Development Bank headquarters that the government will invest heavily in road safety education to achieve its targets.

"Included in the plan is the goal of reducing road accident deaths in the country by at least 35 percent by the year 2028. One strategy is road safety education," Bautista said.

"Our holistic and long-term focus targets drivers, pedestrians, vehicles, and roads. What remains is to sustain the implementation of these strategies," he added.

Other undertakings

Additionally, Bautista said that by the end of the decade, the DoTr will target to cut road accidents and deaths by 50 percent.

He said the accident prevention strategy includes stringent and extensive requirements for issuing driver's and vehicle license plates.

The DoTr chief said the government will also ensure the roadworthiness of motor vehicles and the enforcement of traffic laws by the Land Transportation Office.

Secretary Bautista also cited other road safety projects such as the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program, EDSA Busway, EDSA Greenways and Active Transport that help create road safety awareness.

Based on government data, nearly 1.3 million lives are lost, and an estimated 50 million injuries occur each year due to road crashes.

Primarily, road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5 to 29 years, and more than half of all road traffic deaths are among vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.

Meanwhile, 93 percent of the world's fatalities on roads occur in low and middle-income countries. Road traffic crashes cost most countries 3 percent of their gross domestic product.

On the other hand, between 20 and 50 million people suffer non-fatal injuries, and road traffic injuries cause considerable economic losses to individuals, their families, and nations as a whole.

Finding fault

Roadworthiness, or a lack thereof, may be to blame for the deaths of the 17 people in Antique.

"This is a mountain road, so the bus fell from a high place; that's why the impact caused many casualties," Train said. "Based on witness accounts, there was a mechanical failure. The driver lost control, possibly brake failure."

Cadiao went to the hospital where the survivors were being treated. She promised government assistance for the medical and funeral expenses of the victims.

Train said the search and rescue operation had finished, and the authorities would now focus on retrieving the bus.

"We searched for the bodies until this morning," Train said. "It was tiring to go up and down."

Deadly road accidents are common in the Philippines, where drivers frequently flout the rules and vehicles are often poorly maintained and overloaded.

WITH AFP