Citom to inspect flyovers next week

A safety audit of the Banilad-Talamban flyover will start next week in the aftermath of the Feb. 23 car crash that seriously injured a female driver.

The planning section of the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) will conduct the inspection there and in three other flyovers in the city.

Citom head Rafael Yap told Cebu Daily News that results will be presented in the traffic board’s regular board meeting on Wednesday and then referred for action to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which maintains the flyovers.

The lack of adequate lighting and warning signs in the concrete vehicle overpass have long been noted since the Ban-Tal flyover was opened in 2008.

Similar conditions were observed by motorists in the Mambaling flyover in the south district, the newest of Cebu City’s four flyovers.

In the police report of the Feb. 23 accident, a Mazda 2 hatchback rammed the concrete lane divider at the foot of the Ban-Tal flyover about 4 a.m. and overturned.

divider painteD

Immediately after the accident, Citom had the divider’s black-and-white stripes painted with yellow stripes for better visibility and put a reflectorized strip.

“It’s part of DPWH’s role to install warning devices. It’s part of the program of works and estimates (POWE) but where are these items after the flyover project is implemented,” asked Yap earlier.

The car, a total wreck, was driven by 21-year-old Karina Gajudo, a former Miss Mandaue 2010, who was with 19-year-old Junichi Kuribayashi, both residents of Talamban, Cebu City.

Gajudo’s lower left leg was cut off in the impact. The young man survived with some abrasions.

The two were heading home from a bar in Crossroads in Banilad when the driver suddenly made a U-turn and drove back up the flyover.

Yap said the Citom’s painting of the lane divider was a short-term solution to address immediately the need for public safety for motorists.

“We are sharing with the DPWH our responsibility for road safety,” Yap said, but added that the long-term solution is the task of DPWH.

“It’s a shared jurisdiction (of DPWH and Citom). Road infrastructure has road components,” Yap said.

Meanwhile, SPO4 Nelson Jayme chief Traffic Investigator of the City Police Traffic Patrol Group said the female victim who is recovering at a private hospital is not yet available to answer police questions.

The woman’s father, Allan talked over the phone with Jayme last Wednesday night.

“The father asked for privacy,” Jayme said. He said the father told police that Gajudo had a driver’s license and was the registered owner of the car.

Jayme said the final police report will have to wait until she is well enough to speak personally to the investigators.

On Tuesday, the woman’s companion, Kuribayashi, appeared before traffic investigators with his mother to clarify earlier reports that he was the driver and could not be located. He presented a medical certificate showing he suffered “multiple abrasions” in the mishap.

Kuribayashi said he was in the passenger seat of the car driven by Gajudo.

According to his account, they were heading home from Barcode in Crossroads where they had some drinks.

The accident took place after the female driver read a message on her cellphone and suddenly made a U-turn to return to Crossroads, heading back up the flyover.

He and Gajudo have been in a romantic relationship for two years, according to Jayme based on Kuribayashi’s statements.