‘Human factor’ main cause of road crashes in 2019 – PNP-HPG

MANILA, Philippines – “Human factor” or errors in driving is the main cause of road accidents in the country for 2019, Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) said Wednesday.

“Based on data, kasi karamihan ng aksidente na nangyayari ay because of human factor. Big percentage of that maling diskarte nung nagmamaneho,” PNP-HPG chief Brig. Gen. Dionardo Carlos said in a press conference in Camp Crame, Quezon City.

[Most road accidents are happening because of human factor. Big percentage of that would be the wrong strategy of driving.]

PNP-HPG data showed that from January to September 2019, 8,809 road crashes were caused by human factor, 389 were due to mechanical defect, 240 were due to bad road conditions and 281 were due to other factors including animal crossing and calamities.

Human factor includes bad overtaking, bad turning, speeding, self-incident, drunk driving, using cellphones while driving, hit and run and overloading.

The PNP-HPG chief advised the public to become alert and observe safe driving practices when traveling with passengers.

“Keep a safer distance and correct speed in traveling kapag medyo slow yung traffic merong safe distance at hindi mabilis pagtatakbo [If traffic is slow, there is safe distance and should not be speeding],” Carlos said.

Drivers must also check their vehicles for mechanical defects before traveling, Carlos added./ac