Schools urged: Use LTO safety facility

Land Transportation Office chief Assistant Secretary Atty. Vigor D. Mendoza II on Tuesday, 19 December urged elementary and high school authorities to consider including a visit to the agency's Road Safety Interactive Center on their educational tour to educate their students the importance of road courtesy, discipline and safety.

The RSIC is a state-of-the-art facility of the LTO which offers the public and students with educational and interactive stations complete with driving simulators for both two and four-wheeled vehicles.

On Monday, 18 December, Mendoza officially opened the facility to the public in a ceremony graced by Department of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, a known advocate of road safety.

"The elementary and high school students are the next generations of motorists. It is important that at their young age, they are already being introduced to this kind of facility that focuses on road safety," Mendoza said.

"I assure you na hindi magiging boring ang pagbisita nila sa ating Road Safety Interactive Center dahil this was designed to cater to younger generations as manifested by our interactive stations and modern facilities," he added.

In fact, Mendoza said the RSIC has designed games on road signs, warnings and other regulatory signages. 

It also has a 4D mini theater, which shows informative videos on child safety, teen driving, pedestrian safety, vehicle theft prevention, and types of public utility vehicles.

 "So we encourage school authorities to consider visiting our Road Safety Interactive Center for their students. Road safety is an integral part of our lives so it is really important that we start introducing our children to this as early as possible," Mendoza said.

The LTO chief said he already ordered the creation of a committee that will be tasked to schedule and receive bookings from various schools that are interested to have their respective students visit the RSIC at the LTO Central Office in Quezon City. 

For his part, Bautista said in his speech during the opening ceremony the RSIC will help the public and students understand, create awareness, and follow road safety and traffic rules through modern technology and interactive infotainment. 

"Road safety is very important. We have been stressing the need to ensure the safety of everyone — from motorists, pedestrians and children — on Philippine roads. This interactive facility will provide a certain feel for our visitors here," Bautista said.