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Category Archives: Road Safety
Traffic calming devices in the vicinity of schools – speed tables
Traffic calming devices are an effective means to reduce speeds especially where there are many pedestrians crossing the streets. These are usually applied near schools where there are significant numbers of pedestrians, particularly schoolchildren. Following are examples of raised crossings or speed tables located at the approaches and exits of an intersection in Naga City. These are located at the intersection of J. Hernandez Avenue and P. Burgos Street. Burgos leads straight to the main gate of the University of Nueva Caceres. However, there is no raised crossing for Burgos. There are only those for both legs of Hernandez.
Speed table along north approach of J. Hernandez Avenue
On the other side, there is another raised crossing along J. Hernandez Avenue.
POV of a pedestrian crossing at the speed table towards the UNC main gate (to the left in the photo).
There is a need to have these traffic calming devices in other locations across the city and particularly near schools where crossings are located and vehicle speeds need to be reduced. There should be no exceptions for the application of traffic calming. That includes national roads along which certain agencies like the DPWH like to maintain higher speeds despite the obvious risks posed on pedestrians. Many schools are located along national highways and raised crossings can be designed to reduce speeds while offering safe crossings to schoolchildren. We just have to change mindsets pertaining to safety and priorities.
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Senseless road crashes
My staff shared the following cctv footage of a recent road crash along C.P. Garcia Avenue just across the College of Science Complex in UP Diliman. The videos show two vehicles colliding along the road at nighttime. This is usually a busy road with traffic to and from Katipunan, mostly comprised of travelers associated with the schools I the area.
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17MPeJnrCk/
The black SUV appears to be speeding and suddenly veered towards the opposing lane where it collided with another vehicle. It is unclear if the driver lost control of the vehicle or was aware of what he was doing. That cost 2 lives as both drivers reportedly died from the crash.
This is among those crashes that can be regarded as senseless incidents. This could have been avoided if the driver was not speeding in the first place or perhaps was not influenced by any factor like alcohol or drugs. Perhaps it’s really about the behavior of certain motorists who shouldn’t have licenses to drive in the first place? We commonly refer to them as kamote drivers or riders. The LTO should do their part in ridding the roads of these menaces.
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On roundabouts and how they can improve safety at intersections
Roundabouts are perhaps something that should be considered for Philippine roads. The concern, however, is that Philippine drivers don’t know how to navigate or position themselves in roundabouts. And the results as we have seen in several cases are congested roundabouts or rotundas.
AASHTO (September 26, 2025) “State DOTs Highlight How Roundabouts Improve Safety,” AASHTO Journal, https://aashtojournal.transportation.org/state-dots-highlight-how-roundabouts-improve-safety/%5BLast accessed: 10/19/2025]
To quote from the article:
“To highlight the safety benefits of roundabouts, the Ohio Department of Transportation recently released an analysis of crash data from 76 intersections statewide that had been converted to roundabouts. That analysis indicated single lane roundabouts decreased injury crashes by 69 percent while multi-lane roundabouts resulted in a 25 percent decline.”
And here another quotable from the same article:
“For us, it’s simple. Roundabouts remove cross-traffic turns and eliminate T-bone crashes, while improving traffic flow,” said PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll …”“Any design that dramatically reduces the most serious crashes we see on the road is worthy of consideration in our projects.”
The article also includes a YouTube video on traffic circles.
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Article share: In Defence of Vision Zero — a Traffic Engineer’s Perspective
On weekends, I try to catch up on reading articles that I have deferred indulging on during busy weekdays. One such article that I have repeatedly put off reading is this one on road safety:
Source: In Defence of Vision Zero — a Traffic Engineer’s Perspective
To quote from the article:
“For years, success in transportation was measured in level of service, vehicle throughput, and reduced delay times. But Vision Zero forced the industry to confront a difficult truth. The more we prioritized speed and volume, the more we endangered the most vulnerable users of the road: pedestrians and cyclists, with particular emphasis on children and older adults. Those who sit in decision-making positions must recognize the realities of physics, namely that the human body is frail and vulnerable to a transportation system that prioritizes throughput over safety.”
The article is a really good read and one that I would recommend for my students in Traffic Engineering to read.
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On safety along boring roads
I saw this interesting article about “boring” roads. It seems to be consistent with anecdotal evidence about ordinary roads with unremarkable features especially along adjacent lands. What may be termed as “beautiful” and “remarkable” may not necessarily be distractions to road users. Rather, it may keep people’s attention on the roads and people outside cars or, as the article refers to them, non-motorist car injuries or fatalities. There seems to be some confusing outcomes or perhaps confusing use of terminology in how the article is written (i.e., how perceptions are stated in the article).
Wilson, K. (August 21, 2025) “Study: Boring Roads End Up With More Injuries For People Outside Cars,” Streets Blog USA, https://usa.streetsblog.org/2025/08/21/study-boring-roads-end-up-with-more-injuries-for-people-outside-cars [Last accessed: 8/27/2025]
Quoting from the article:
“Researchers at the University of Connecticut recently analyzed the emotional reactions of more than 81,000 volunteers to a trove of Google Street View images from 56 cities around the world — and found that certain recurring perceptions correlated tightly with how many car crashes involving vulnerable road users actually happened where those photos were taken.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the participants were pretty good at gauging whether a road was “safe” for walking and biking just by eyeballing it and reporting on how safe it made them feel in general, adding further evidence to the pile that “perceived safety” is a critical metric that every transportation leader should take seriously. Streets that volunteers perceived as “wealthier” also tended to record lower crash volumes — which also might be intuitive, considering that some of the most obvious signs of neighborhood affluence can be great public infrastructure like smooth sidewalks, pristine bike lanes, and ample street lighting.
Roads that were rated as “lively,” meanwhile, were associated with higher crash volumes — though the researchers were careful to note that may just be because there were more people in those images, and crash rates per capita, or per pedestrian- or bike-mile traveled, might actually be lower in hopping human-centered areas.”
In that last paragraph, the term “lively” might have different perceptions depending on the people looking at images of streets. In our case, the street scene in Divisoria, for example, can be described as “lively” yet it may be safer than what is perceived in other countries, especially in the west. I think we have to be careful with the kind of studies as described in the article and to be fair, they did say that their study is still at an exploratory stage.
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Is it possible to have zero traffic deaths in a year?
Is it possible to have zero traffic deaths in a year? Is it even probable? As it turns out, yes. Here’s an article on what Helsinki did in order to make this a reality:
Andrei, M. (August 1, 2025) “Helsinki went a full year without a traffic death. How did they do it?” ZME Science, https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/helsinki-went-a-full-year-without-a-traffic-death-how-did-they-do-it/ [Last accessed: 8/19/2025]
To quote from the article:
“A lot of factors contributed to this, but speed limits are one of the most important,” said Roni Utriainen, a traffic engineer with the city’s Urban Environment Division.
More than half of Helsinki’s streets have a speed limit of 30 km/h (approximately 20 mph). Half a century ago, the city barely had half of its area with a 50 km/h limit (30 mph). They gradually worked to reduce the speed limit, especially around schools and kindergartens.
Smarter street design also played a key role. Pedestrian and cycling infrastructure was prioritized for upgrades in recent years. More and more people started using public transit or bikes, or just walking. Substantial investments also made public transit more efficient and reliable.“Public transport in Helsinki is excellent, which reduces car use, and with it, the number of serious accidents,” Utriainen noted.
Another key component was bringing the police on board. Helsinki introduced automated traffic cameras and enforcement systems, which also helped bring down reckless driving.”
Examples of congestion pricing as applied in major cities
Here is a quick share of an article on cities that have been successful with congestion pricing:
Zukowski, D. (August 8, 2025) “5 cities with congestion pricing,” Smart Cities Dive, https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/news/5-cities-with-congestion-pricing/756987/ [Last accessed: 8/15/2025]
Quoting from the article:
“As cities around the world continue to see increased traffic delays, some have implemented congestion pricing programs to ease gridlock. Congestion pricing acts as a market-based mechanism: increasing the cost to drive in certain areas may encourage drivers to take alternate means of transport or travel at different times. Toll revenues can go to improving roadways and public transit or reducing other vehicle-related taxes.”
Indeed congestion pricing has been around and yet few cities have actually implemented congestion pricing schemes and have had success with it. In the Philippines, the discussions are basically on and off or intermittent. I recall there were already mention of congestion pricing in Metro Manila transport studies back in the 1970s but nothing really came out of those. Fast forward to the present and Baguio City in the northern Philippines implemented their version of number coding, which was supposedly a prelude to some form of congestion pricing but apparently is more of a travel demand management (TDM) scheme along the lines of Metro Manila’s UVVRP. Will we have our own proof of concept sometime soon even for a smaller area or district in any Philippine city? That will also be dependent on whether our so-called leaders can engage their constituents in meaningful discussions on the benefits of congestion pricing.
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Rain and fog along Sumulong Highway
I just wanted to share a few photos of the conditions along Sumulong Highway these past days. With Felix Avenue and Ortigas Avenue Extension frequently flooded during this season, our commutes would usually be along Sumulong and Marcos Highways.
Despite the conditions of the road, there are still many who drive or ride recklessly. Speeding, weaving and cutting on slippery pavements increase the likelihood of crashes, which are preventable if only people will slow down and be more cautious.
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On the increase in road crashes involving trucks in Rizal province
The incidence of road crashes involving trucks in our area and along my regular commuting routes seem to be increasing. Many of these are large, heavy trucks often with cement or other construction materials being hauled from one of the quarries or plants located in Antipolo and neighboring towns.
Road crash near Tikling Junction last Saturday, July 5, 2025
The resulting congestion due to the partial blockage of Ortigas Avenue Extension had eastbound traffic backed up almost up to Cainta Junction and it took more than an hour to pass the site before going up to Antipolo. Why are these crashes becoming more frequent? Perhaps these trucks are not well-maintained in the first place. Another issue is perhaps truck overloading. Whatever the issues may be whether we can isolate one or its a combination of several, interventions must be formulated and implemented. The LGUs need to be more proactive about this and not be over-reliant on the police who are there usually after a crash has occurred, and too late to prevent damage to property, injuries or worse, fatalities.
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Caught (up) in traffic 