DOH exec: Road accidents 4th leading cause of RP deaths

MANILA, Philippines - Amid a series of bus accidents in the last few days, a Health department official on Thursday said road mishaps are already the fourth leading cause of deaths among Filipinos. This was revealed by Doctor Cecille Magturo of the DOH Road Safety Program during the three-day training seminar of bus drivers at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City. The seminar, organized by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), was aimed at re-orienting drivers - from the three bus firms that were recently embroiled in vehicular accidents – on basic road safety measures. The list of the leading causes of deaths in the country showed that vehicular accidents are only surpassed by the top three diseases in the country. The data for the list was collected in a five-year span from 1998 to 2003. In her speech, Magturo warned that the spot that road accidents currently occupy may climb up if reckless drivers are not disciplined immediately. Based on her assessment, Magturo said that the long hours that drivers spend behind the wheels contribute greatly to drivers losing control of their vehicles. While road accidents caused by human error accounted only for a small 2 percent of the total, Magturo still blamed the operators and concerned agencies for their insufficient policies. The LTFRB decided to set up the seminar, in coordination with the UP National Center for Transport Studies, after a Mercedez Benz vehicle burst into flames when it was hit by a bus allegedly trying to race with another bus two weeks ago. The driver of the car was charred to death. After the deadly road accident, a series of road incidents involving buses transpired in Pampanga, Mandaluyong City and Cavite. - GMANews.TV