By Danilo P. Padua, PhD
Few days ago, an overloaded Leomarick bus dived into its final destruction in a ravine in Carranglan, Nueva Ecija. Unfortunately, it resulted in the end of the earthly journey of about 34 people. From the various accounts of the accident, there are at least four angles that must be given attention to.
Everybody can see that the part of the road where the bus escaped unhampered into the ravine had no barrier. It is no different from the many previous accidents that happened in Naguilian Road, Kennon Road and even in Halsema Highway. After those accidents, the proper barriers were put in place with the corresponding easily discernible paints, much like those seen abroad. There is no need for lives to be “sacrificed” in order to make things right. Lack of budget should not be used as an escape goat in such accidents. Barriers should always be a part of the budget in relevant road construction or repair.
There are so many mountain roads with nary strong barriers in vital portions, sometimes none at all. This is especially true in the Cordillera region. Also some places that I have seen in the Ilocos region and in parts of Mindanao such as Davao, Bukidnon and Misamis Oriental.
The Department of Public Works should inventory all roads needing barriers and make plans to construct strong ones, pronto. It’s timely because the present government has made infrastructure development as one of its cornerstones of development. Let’s not wait for more similar accidents to happen. For all we know those kids who had their breathes forcibly taken away from them in those happenstances could have been our future bright leaders.
Another thing is the driver factor. A couple of days before the Carranglan accident, I drove with my family to Santiago City for a family camp there. Except for the high ones in Benguet and Nueva Vizcaya, the ravines in the Isabela side, particularly in Cordon, were not that high but nonetheless dangerous. The curves, some of them are short, pose real dangers yet many drivers including bus drivers, tried to overtake the long lines of vehicles putting everyone in possible danger. We were almost hit by a reckless driver as he swerved to avoid an incoming vehicle from almost a blind curve. I had to suffer quiet inconvenience, as there is no point in vociferously cursing. To think that significant portions of the road are under repair and that if the road is not yet actually being dug or laid out for actual cementing, long stretches are “holy land”. Drivers who carelessly overtakes in those conditions are the prime candidates for accidents.
Sometimes, drivers have that feeling of “what am I, weak driver?”. That leads to a devil-may-care attitude and pay very little attention to road safety. The general condition of the bus or any vehicle for that matter, is also sometimes not properly given a deserved attention.
I myself had made an almost fatal mistake when I did not have my clutch-break system checked before I left for Isabela. I had already detected something going wrong with the clutch while still in Cordon on our way home. When we reached Baguio, the clutch was already limp. We thank the Lord for allowing us to crawl up to our home in La Trinidad at around 12 midnight!
It’s about time that drivers of public utility vehicles be professionalized. That is, they should undergo serious training on psychology, road courtesy, better relations with passengers and other people, and others. Drivers of utility vehicles in Europe for example, are highly respected because of such trainings.
The condition or roadworthiness of a bus or any vehicle for that matter is surely of prime importance, especially in a long trip. The bus involved in the accident appear to have malfunctioned brakes, which was a usual cause of accidents in roads with long uphill and downhill portions. I can vividly remember (partly with horror) that when I first rode old, decrepit buses in some cities of India ten years ago, they creaked as if the different parts of the bus are warring with each other or go separate ways but their brakes were in excellent conditions. In more than 5 months of riding those ‘susmaryosep’ buses, I had experienced another bus hitting the side of the bus I’m in, but never as a result of broken brakes. It was more of a driver’s miscalculation.
Of course, the DPWH personnel on road concerns are very important. If they are just planning to build roads without properly focusing on road safety, that is a folly of a high degree. It will certainly result in untold miseries for future victims’ families. As it is, the families of the recent bus accident are now in great quandary as to how they could get over the death of their loved ones, let alone how they can survive in this harsh world as many victims were counted on to economically help their bereaved families.
The case of Benguet, Mtn. Province and other CAR provinces are particularly urgent because of their physiography. Brakes and clutches are used more often and therefore their lifespan is relatively shorter. Barriers should be immediately constructed as soon as possible. Otherwise, even the vegetable industry in Benguet and Mtn. Province could be adversely affected. **
