OVER the last two weeks, there were a number of road mishaps that left more than 10 casualties, among them children.
In one otherwise ordinary night in Cagayan de Oro, a drunken truck driver ran over people like crazy leaving at least seven people dead including the husband and three children of Remedios Abrio. It was a terrible scene of blood and gore along the highway in barangay Cugman.
In nearby provinces, tragic accidents also happen almost every day. One awful bus crash in Nueva Ecija had a total death toll of 32.
A split second of carelessness can actually lead to a road crash and determine who lives or dies or worse, who gets to live a life of a vegetable.
Believe it or not, the fate of many lie on the hands of the driver.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of drivers who drive under the influence of alcohol and even prohibited drugs. There are also drivers who willfully neglect repairs on their vehicles to save on expenses. However, in the end, these repairs would cost them innocent lives.
Some drivers could not do anything but regret everything in jail.
Government agencies must strictly regulate the vehicles in our roads as well as be stringent in implementing traffic rules. Officials monitoring public utility vehicles must do so not only during peak seasons like Holy Week or special holidays but do them regularly. They must also regularly check drivers by conducting random drug and alcohol tests.
We commute from work and school to our homes every day. It causes anxiety to see and read reports on road crashes with tragic deaths. We take a public transport and always pray that we will have a safe trip even if it is just a 30-minute ride. Although we do not really know what fate will bring us on the road but being particularly cautious in following road rules is always a good thing.
As much as we can, let us inform and educate drivers to be more responsible in checking technical issues of their vehicles first before going on a road trip.
I also hope that drivers would always think of others and not drink alcoholic beverages while driving, especially if they’re driving an trucks or a buses.
I hope drivers would also be emotionally stable when driving so as not to cause trouble on the road. Having a hot temper is also a factor in incidents of road rage.
Cagayan de Oro City is already too crowded and anyone driving recklessly would likely cause a tragic accident. I hope drivers will be more cautious this time and all the time.