TO EASE traffic caused by minor traffic accidents, a Provincial Board (PB) member wants parties involved in collisions to take photos or videos of their vehicles and the accident scene and leave the area right away.
PB Member Glenn Anthony Soco (6th), chairman of the committee on planning and development, proposed an ordinance on the matter during the PB’s regular session on Monday, Nov. 11, 2019.
Soco cited the Master Plan and Institutional Development on Urban Transport System in Metro Cebu, which was a joint project of the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Department of Transportation.
According to the master plan, an average of 1,235 road accidents are recorded in Metro Cebu every month.
These road mishaps, Soco said, was also one of the bases for the declaration of a traffic crisis in the province on Oct. 7, 2019.
“Measures must be made to improve and speed up response and how quickly (we) can ease traffic after a road accident while efficiently preserving the facts and circumstances of a possible crime or incident,” Soco said.
Under the draft legislation, it is the responsibility of the drivers who figured in a road accident to take photos and videos of the incident.
These photos and videos should include but not be limited to the colliding vehicles; position of the vehicles; physical damage caused to either or both of the vehicles; positioning or placement of the vehicles vis-a-vis the highway; placement of the vehicles’ wheels; and skid marks on the highway, if any.
After taking photos and/or videos, drivers must then “immediately” pull out from the area in order to clear the flow of traffic.
If an amicable settlement is reached, both parties are encouraged to exchange personal information.
Otherwise, they must call for a traffic investigator to record and settle the matter.
The proposed ordinance, though, will not cover road mishaps resulting in death and physical injuries.
If the ordinance is approved, those who fail to comply will pay a fine ranging from P1,000 to P5,000.
Soco’s ordinance was referred to the committee on public services for its review and comment. (RTF)