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Category Archives: Road Safety
Happy New Year and Safer roads for 2024!
We conclude 2023 and begin 2024 with hopeful greetings for everyone especially for the coming year!
Last December 18, 2023, an event was held in Quezon City for the launch of the Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023 by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for Child Road Traffic Injury Prevention (CRTIP) by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Advocates of road safety were gathered for the launch and the MOU signing including top officials of the Department of Transportation, which is the lead agency for the initiative.
Information and links to the WHO Road Safety Data app. The app is available on Google Play and the Apple App Store. You can also scan the QR code in the photo to get the app and install it on your gadget.
Representatives of the various agencies, offices and groups who signed the MOU for the National Coalition for Child Road Traffic Injury Prevention (NC-CRTIP).
Participants to the MOU signing and Philippine launch of the WHO’s Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023
I learned there that the DOTr intends to reconstitute an inter agency committee on road safety. This is a throwback to the Road Safety Steering Committee and Technical Working Group during the time of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and then DOTC Secretary Leandro Mendoza that was co-chaired by the DOTC and DPWH. People were able to discuss road safety along various contexts and formulate programs and projects involving many if not most of the agencies and organizations at the time. These same agencies and organizations plus many others are still actively campaigning for safer roads or safer streets. Unfortunately, many are not talking with each other and there are those who seem to assume that there were no effort before to make transportation safer (sorry not sorry for pointing that out quite bluntly here). I am hopeful that this committee will be reconstituted this 2024 and that will lead to safer roads for everyone.
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Speeding, road crashes and nuts behind the wheel
A recent road crash involving a car slamming into a truck along Marcos Highway in Antipolo City highlights one of the main concerns affecting road safety in the Philippines – speeding. Video from a CCTV camera installed at an establishment near the crash site showed a truck making a U-turn and doing it correctly (i.e., the maneuver) and safely. What followed was a car that was obviously speeding but seemingly not out of control. The car slammed the back of the truck in what was a fatal and tragic crash.
Are the roads to blame? While roads and bridges are static, design elements are the main culprits for why these facilities can be unsafe to users. Straight, level and wide sections of roads invite speeding among drivers and riders alike. The so-called ‘ideal’ sections of roads encourage drivers and riders to speed up, regardless of the speed limits. Thus, roads like Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City and Marcos Highway in Antipolo, Cainta, Marikina and Pasig have many speeding vehicles. The design speeds for these roads are definitely above the speed limits. I still maintain though that it takes two to tango. That is, even with the above conditions, disciplined, experienced drivers and riders should not have been speeding or doing any other risky maneuver. That could have reduced the likelihood of such crashes. I think that’s pretty plain and common sense.
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29th Annual Conference of the TSSP
The Transportation Science Society of the Philippines (TSSP) held its 29th Annual Conference today, December 7, 2023. Following is the program for the conference, which featured a panel discussion in the morning and technical sessions in the afternoon.
This was the first mainly face-to-face or in-person conference for the society since 2019. Previously, the conferences were online. As reported in the concluding part of the program, there were 84 participants who showed up at the venue while there were 30+ participants who were online via Zoom.
There were a couple of awards at the conference. These were the Best Paper Award and the Best Presentation Award. The Best Paper Award, based on the scores garnered from the blind review of the papers went to:
Maria Belen Vasquez and Jun T. Castro of UP Diliman for their paper entitled “Exploring Travel Patterns of Mobility of Care in Guiuan, Eastern Samar: Assessment of Gender and Sociodemographic Factors Using Spatial Analysis”
There was a tie for the Best Presentation Award. The two were Ms. Vasquez for the presentation of the paper on the Mobility of Care in Eastern Samar, and Mr. Erris Sancianco for the presentation of a paper he co-authored with Noriel Christopher Tiglao, Niki Jon Tolentino, Gillian Kate Hidalgo, Mary Joy Leanda, and Lester Jay Ollero entitled “Evaluating the Fuel Efficiency and Eco-Driving Potential of the EDSA Carousel using On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) and Mobile Crowdsourcing“. These papers will likely find their way to the Philippine Transportation Journal’s next issue.
Though it was not announced, a likely venue for the next conference will be Vigan, Ilocos Sur in the Northern Philippines. The likely host will be the University of Northern Philippines, the premier state university in that province. Previously and most recently, the conference was held in Cebu City (hosted by the University of San Jose-Recoletos) in 2019 and before that in Cagayan De Oro City (hosted by Xavier University) in 2018. TSSP was already organizing the 2020 conference when the pandemic struck and the country went on a lockdown. That conference was supposed to have been held in Baguio City in Benguet, and to be hosted by St. Louis University.
More information on the conference may soon be found at the TSSP’s official website: https://ncts.upd.edu.ph/tssp/
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On making intersections safe by ‘daylighting’
I came across this interesting article that introduced a somewhat new term to me – daylighting.
Abramson, B. (November 24, 2023) “How to Daylight Your City’s Intersections (and Why It Matters),” Strong Towns, https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2023/11/24/how-to-daylight-your-citys-intersections-and-why-it-matters [Last accessed: 12/3/2023]
From the article:
“Daylighting is the technical term for a common-sense solution to traffic safety: By removing visual obstructions in approaching intersections, users can better see and more safely cross each other’s paths. “
There are certainly many intersections and even mid-block crossings in our cities and municipalities that could use ‘daylighting’ to improve safety. Many of these intersections and crossings are used by the most vulnerable road users like children, senior citizens and persons with disabilities. Interventions need not be expensive and may also involve the community. Examples are shown in the article, and these can easily be implemented formally or informally with the cooperation of stakeholders including the local government units and national agencies (i.e., DPWH) under whose jurisdiction many roads are.
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Incorporating bike lanes along local roads – an example in Taguig City
I have not used an old route that we usually take to go to BGC from our place in Antipolo. This is via the Manila East Road, Highway 2000, Barkadahan Bridge and C6. From C6, we usually take Ruhale instead of Seagull Avenue as the former provided a shorter route towards Levi Mariano Avenue and C5. So it was only last weekend that I was able to see the improvements along Ruhale Street and how bike lanes were incorporated along this road. I am sharing the following photos showing a two lane road and Class 2 bike lanes.
The green pavement markings indicate an intersection or driveway.
Noticeable are the electric posts that remain along the bike lanes. These need to be transferred so they will not pose danger to all road users.
More electric posts along the bike lanes
Bike lanes in front of an industrial establishment
Close-up of a post in the middle of the bike lane.
Bike lane across another industrial establishment. Again, note the green pavement marking across the driveway of the establishment.
Bike lanes along a predominantly residential area along Ruhale.I would consider this as a good practice example that can be replicated elsewhere. Of course, it is not perfect and as shown in the photos, there is much room for improvement including the transfer of electric posts that pose as hazards to all road users. The bike lanes are wide enough that installing bollards for the perception of physical protection vs. motor vehicles can be considered. Ruhale is generally a low speed, low volume road so perhaps the current state with no barriers would be enough for now. Also, we need to appreciate that these are already gains or wins in as far as active transport is concerned. A few years ago, this would not have been implemented by national or local governments.
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A real battle of Katipunan – the search for a transportation solution
Is it obvious that I was alluding to the classic match-ups of the two major universities – Ateneo De Manila University and the University of the Philippines Diliman – that are located along Katipunan Avenue for the title of this article? That is deliberate on my part as there is a ‘real’ battle along Katipunan Avenue, and it does not involve sports.
Following is a recent article from the Philippine Collegian that reports on the current state of traffic along the corridor:
https://phkule.org/article/971/private-cars-mainly-to-blame-for-katipunan-traffic-transport-experts
I have written before and many times about transport and traffic along Katipunan Avenue. This road has been part of my daily commute since 1988 when I was admitted to UP Diliman as a B.S. Civil Engineering major. Back then Katipunan was not as wide as it is now, especially along the section between UP Diliman and the MWSS complex. That section only had 2 lanes then. What is not a wide center island with large, old acacia trees used to be the frontage of MWSS. So now you can probably imagine how much land was ceded by MWSS for road widening.
I also wanted to write about Katipunan in part as a sort of farewell to the former MMDA Chair and Marikina Mayor Bayani Fernando (BF), who recently passed away. Much of how Katipunan looks like and the traffic situation today can be traced to what transpired during his time at MMDA. I will refrain from writing about this and him for now. I am actually thinking of writing a series about BF and his time as Mayor in Marikina, as MMDA Chair, and his brief stint as DPWH Secretary. This short article will do for now.
Changing for the rains
A common seen these days of the wet season are motorcycle riders stopping to take out their rain gear to wear so they can continue with their travels. I’m not surprised that many if not most already have their rain gear ready if it rained and they needed to use them. Oftentimes, the location would be under any shade or shelter including underneath footbridges, waiting sheds or trees. If there were nowhere to seek shelter, they change right in the open. Following is an example where riders stopped at a parking area of a residential development to don their raincoats and jackets.
In the above example, riders do not impede traffic flow as they change off-street. In other cases though where they congregate under footbridges, they tend to block traffic and cause congestion where there was none. Perhaps there can be more areas or designated locations for changing to rain gear?
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On sleepy drivers
I am sharing this article on sleep-deprived driving as there appears to be low awareness of the dangers of this behavior as opposed to the typical drunk driving or driving under the influence (DUI) cases that we often hear or read about in the news (mainstream or social media).
Britt, R.B. (April 18, 2023) “Sleep-Deprived Drivers Might as Well be Drunk,” Medium.com, https://robertroybritt.medium.com/sleep-deprived-drivers-might-as-well-be-drunk-887aab48c1c [Last accessed: 4/21/2023]
To quote from the article:
“A 2016 study by AAA linked lack of sleep in the past 24 hours to dramatically higher crash risk, in hour-by-hour increments:
6–7 hours sleep: 1.3 times the risk
5–6 hours: 1.9 times the risk
4–5 hours: 4.3 times the risk
<4 hours: 11.5 times the risk
The risk of a crash drops to zero if you simply stay off the road, of course. Otherwise, the bottom line is pretty clear:
“You cannot miss sleep and still expect to be able to safely function behind the wheel,” said David Yang, executive director for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.”
So make sure you get your sleep because it is really important for you to function not just as a driver or rider. It also applies to other activities or tasks as well whether you’re working, studying or playing.
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Child’s perspective of road safety
As adults, many of us seem to have forgotten how it was to be a child and to see things from a child’s perspective. This perspective is important in many cases, situations or scenarios. One area where we can use this perspective to improve how things are is in road safety. As they say, streets that are safe for children are safe for everyone else. I am sharing this guide that also includes a project involving coming up with a reverse periscope. The reverse periscope is intended for an adult to have the view of a child.
How Do Kids Experience Streets? The Reverse Periscope Companion Guide
This guide would be something that can be used in road safety seminars or workshops that include some field activities. Participants can use the reverse periscope to simulate being a child as they walk and cross streets. An activity can be designed for transport and highway officials, even local government staff involved in planning, design and assessment of streets.
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Article share: Redesigning Streets for Livability: A Global View
I am sharing this article on redesigning streets. It is actually a promotion for a book: “Streets For All: 50 Strategies for Shaping Resilient Cities”.
To quote from the article:
“Streets For All: 50 Strategies for Shaping Resilient Cities is an expansive 270-page volume that explores the evolving potential of the most ubiquitous public space in our cities. It offers ideas, tactics and strategies from across the world on how our streets are being, and, can be rethought, recast, repurposed and redesigned towards greater resilience and resourcefulness. The globally diverse opinions and case studies in this book remind us why cities with limited means can offer profound lessons to affluent societies that take their prosperity for granted. And in turn, how the virtues of effective urban administration and reinforcement seen in developed societies could reassuringly serve to inspire less economically developed ones.”
Caught (up) in traffic 