DOTR tightens road rules after deadly crashes

The Department of Transportation (DOTR) and its attached agencies — the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) — are taking coordinated action to improve road safety following a string of fatal accidents.

At a media briefing Monday morning, Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon announced that a new department order will be signed today, mandating drug testing for all public vehicle drivers.

The order also shortens the maximum allowable driving hours from six to four. For trips lasting more than four hours, a replacement driver—rather than a conductor — will be required to take over.

Dizon also directed the LTO and LTFRB to enforce stricter roadworthiness inspections and enhance driver training programs.

In addition, authorities have been instructed to investigate the social media accounts that posted CCTV footage of the recent SUV crash near the entrance of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1, as part of broader accountability efforts.

The crackdown comes in the wake of a multi-vehicle collision along the Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway that claimed 12 lives and injured at least 27 others on Thursday, 1 May.

Separately, a man and a five-year-old girl were killed, and four others injured, after a car barreled into a crowd and crashed near the entrance of NAIA Terminal 1 on Sunday morning.