MANILA, Philippines—Edsa and Commonwealth Avenue have been identified as the most traffic accident-prone areas in Quezon City.
In a report, Quezon City Police District Traffic Enforcement Unit (QCPD-TEU) head Superintendent Norberto Babagay attributed the large number of traffic mishaps, which make up almost 70 percent of the total reported incidents from January to July, to the volume of vehicles traversing the major thoroughfares.
Babagay explained that more cars pass through the two highways at high speeds, increasing the likelihood of collisions between the vehicles.
He discounted the presence of U-turn slots and the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) pink fences as the cause of most vehicular mishaps along EDSA and Commonwealth Avenue.
For the period of January to July, a total of 4,442 road accidents were reported in Quezon City.
July recorded the lowest number of traffic accidents at 480 incidents, the number some 40 percent lower than mishaps tallied in April at 803, when more vehicles were on the streets for family outings in Metro Manila or in the provinces because of the summer vacation.
Based on the report, out of the total road accidents, 77 had fatalities, 296 had casualties while 4,069 resulted in damage to property.
The QCPD-TEU chief explained that human error usually caused the accidents, particularly among inattentive drivers.
“These drivers may be using their cellular phones while driving or may not be focused on driving,” he stressed, adding that other motorists who figured in mishaps tailgated because "they drove too close to other cars which suddenly stopped or accelerated their speed too much."
Babagay likewise revealed that most of the traffic accidents in Quezon City occur between 10 a.m. and 12 noon, when motorists are hurrying to catch up to appointments, and the number of reported mishaps usually peak on the weekends.
The QCPD-TEU chief likewise noted that most of the drivers who figure in traffic accidents never attended classes in driving school and only “learned to drive by experience.”
“At least in driving school future drivers are educated on the basic traffic rules. Those who learn only by experience are more prone to violate regulations and expose themselves to accidents,” he emphasized.
He also pointed out that in road accidents involving motorcycles, the use of crash helmets ensured the survival of the riders.
