Wednesday, January 30, 2008 Oledan: Public threat By Radzini Oledan Slice of life
INCREASINGLY, city streets have become unsafe for pedestrians. Countless cases of accidents and even death continue to occur. The culprit -- careless driving and half-hearted implementation of road safety measures by both motorists and enforcers.
There are danger zones in the city, with public utility vehicles crazily trying to outdo the speed of the other. Couple this with some over speeding taxis and cars which look like they want to be in a racing event as one gets more than a high in adrenalin.
It's the lack of consciousness on safety that threatens us.
Too often, there's flagrant disregard of the safety of other road users, heavy noise or music, as the "uso-uso" PUJs on Davao City-Toril route are notorious of, overtaking, driving too close, texting while driving or driving under the influence of alcohol. In some cases, it may also be a failure of operators to have their vehicles checked, as what happened to the taxi we were riding last year, when it figured in an accident.
These momentary negligence and error of judgment sometimes cause irreparable and permanent damage to the victims.
There may be a need for strong public pressure for a more efficient implementation of road safety measures. Certainly, the public deserves it not only after an accident has happened.
There is also an urgent need for responsible agencies to evaluate traffic implementation and amend existing laws.
It would be worthwhile on the part of the Land Transportation Office, Land Transportation, Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Traffic Management Center to coordinate well to ensure the safety of the riding public.
A bigger challenge lies.
It is to make these authorities responsive to the needs of the public. There is something wrong when authorities continued to be perceived as mulcting drivers rather than ensuring public safety.
The challenge is on our end to become more pro-active rather than turn a blind eye and wait for accidents to happen.
