Calabarzon cops take measures vs drunk driving, overspeeding

The Calabarzon regional police office will conduct random checking of vehicles passing through the major highways in the region after more than 1,000 road accidents were recorded last year. Chief Superintendent Samuel Pagdilao Jr. said he ordered the regional Highway Patrol Group (HPG) to conduct a strict monitoring of the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) and the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) Tollway to see if any drivers are either driving under the influence of liquor or violating speed limits. He said the HPG would be meeting with the management of the SLEX and the STAR Tollway to discuss measures on how to strictly implement rules against drunk driving and overspeeding. "[I hope to] thresh out measures that will improve the interoperability of all agencies concerned in ensuring that all laws and rules on motorists' safety are being strictly implemented," Pagdilao said in a statement issued on Thursday. The order came days after a deadly vehicular accident involving a bus, a car, and a jeepney killed seven people on the STAR Tollway in Ibaan, Batangas. An investigation had shown that the driver of the souhtbound bus was trying to overtake a vehicle in front of it when it swerved toward the opposite lane and collided with an incoming jeepney. The jeepney was carrying a family who was returning to Manila after spending the holidays in Batangas. The incident brought to 22, the number of people killed in road mishaps in Calabarzon in December, which along with March, is considered the "most fatal" month in 2010 after recording the most number of fatalities. Meanwhile, the highest number of road mishaps in the region happened in September (127 incidents), November (115), and March (107). According to HPG records, a total of 1,078 vehicular accidents happened in Calabarzon, 544 of them occurred on the SLEX, while three incidents - including the one in Ibaan - happened on the STAR Tollway. – VVP, GMANews.TV