THE Davao City Ordinance that set speed limits all over the city is most opposed by taxi drivers but is showing to be very effective in reducing road accidents.
Taxi drivers claim they are earning less because they have toi abid by the 30kph downtownand the 40kph and 60 kph in other areas.
“Grabe man pud kaayo sila. Kulang pa gani among ginansya, maapektuhan pa gyod anang speed limit nga balaod (They are already out of the line. Our income is already not enough and it also has been affected by the speed limit),” Mang Isko (not his real name) said.
This is echoed by others.
But Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte is not budging. The ordinance is intended to protect life and properties.
The mayor first came out with Executive Order 39 setting the speed limits last October 29, 2013 and was fully implemented last January 2014.
Traffic Management Center (TMC) Executive Officer Charlotte Parba explained that EO 39 is basically patterned from the national law which is the Republic Act 4136.
As promulgated in the ordinance, the drivers must observe a maximum speed of 60 kilometer per hour (kph) from Sirawan to Ulas Crossing, from Lasang to Panacan, from Calinan to Ulas Crossing, and from C.P Gracia Highway-McArthur Highway to Panacan.
For vehicles that traverse from Ulas to Generoso Bridge/Bolton Bridge, from Panacan Crossing to J.P Laurel Avenue-Alcantara, and from Ma-a Road Diversion to McArthur Highway, a maximum speed of 40 kph is mandated.
From J.P Laurel Ave. Alcantara to Bolton/Generoso Bridge, from Buhangin Crossing-Milan to Bolton/Generoso Bridge, from C.P Garcia Highway-Bacaca Road to Bolton/Generoso Bridge, and from C.P Garcia Highway-Angliongto St. to Bolton/Generoso Bridge, the maximum speed is 30 kph.
Parba also said that there are 332 traffic enforcers in the field while 60 traffic enforcers are deputized by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to implement the law.
Moreover aside from the TMC and LTO, other implementing agencies of the ordinance includes the Traffic group-DCPO, Highway Patrol Group while the Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board and Department of Public Works and Highways serve as the support agencies.
Enforcers could either do two things to a violator, Parba said.
First is punitive where they will penalize the violating motorist or second, educative where they will flag down the vehicle and educate the violator.
To implement this, the city bought 10 Bushnell speed guns, which it gave out to the Philippine National Police, Highway Patrol Group, and Land Transportation Office, and the Traffic Management Center.
This is complemented by the 191 CCTV cameras that monitor traffic and security in key areas in the city.
The CCTVs are viewed from the Public Safety and Security Command Center (PSCC) in SIR New Matina.
Gen. Francisco J. Villaroman, Head of PSCC, said it was in reviewing the CCTV footages on vehicular accidents that the mayor was convinced to implement the speed limits.
Villaroman said that since speed limits were imposed, there have been less vehicular accidents and fatal accidents have dropped by 90%.
As cited by Rappler, a 42.9 percent drop in the number of traffic incidents in the downtown area has been observed on the first year of its implementation.
In addition, at least 4,000 traffic incidents were recorded in Davao's central area from January to September 2014 – significantly lower than the 7,000 incidents reported in the same period in 2013.
Taxi drivers may be very much against the speed limits, but the general public do not share their sentiments. Incidentally, vehicular accidents involving taxis rank second to the topnotcher in vehicular accidents – motorcycles.
As cited in a report by Mindanews, nearly 8 in 10 Davaoeños agree with the overall intent of the driving speed limit ordinance although the approval varies depending on the imposed limits, based on a study by the University of Mindanao’s Institute of Popular Opinion (IPO).
The study surveyed 1,200 respondents across the city’s three congressional districts from May 16-24 this year, with 936 people agreeing and 170 others not agreeing with the ordinance.
The respondents’ reasons for agreeing with the executive order range from safety to discipline.
The survey said that majority of Dabawenyos believe the limits imposed by the ordinance to be within “the right speed,” with 80% of them saying the 40-kph speed limit in some of the city’s longer roads were the “justified maximum acceleration.”
The figure, however, dropped when it comes to the 30 kph speed limit with only 75 percent of those surveyed agreeing with it while 19 percent wanted it increased.
On the 60 kph limit, 77 percent of the respondents gave their approval and 17 percent wanted it increased.
Regarding the city’s highest speed limit, 60 kph, only four percent wanted the limit reduced.
As to the penalties, 583 or 62 percent of the respondents said the fines are commensurate to the violation. Only 82 of the respondents, or 9 percent, said the penalty has to be reduced.
As cited in a report of SunStar Davao, DCPO-Traffic Group Head Superintendent Rhodelio Poliquit said they have recorded a total of 408 vehicular accidents for the month of November 2013, reduced by 11 percent as compared to October 2013’s 461.
Of the 408 incidents, only 83 of them caused physical injuries while the other 325 resulted in damage to properties.
In October 2013, 370 incidents with a recorded damage to properties were reported. 91 incidents caused harm to both drivers and passengers.
There were also no deaths recorded from road-related incidents for October and November.
In the meantime, taxi drivers have found a way to reduce the time and distance to travel while looking for passengers by embracing technology: Grab Taxi.
Grab Taxi is an android and iOS application which connects drivers and passengers over the internet.
With the app, drivers do not have to travel all over just to find a passenger as they can accept a call when they are the nearest available taxi to the passenger who has called Grab. (Aivy Rose N. Villarba)