Traffic personnel get breaks to avoid stroke

TRAFFIC agencies in the cities of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu will allow their personnel to take breaks and shift those suffering from hypertension to easier schedules to avoid heat strokes.

Edwin Ermac, head of the Traffic Enforcement Agency in Mandaue (TEAM) said personnel with high blood pressure will be transferred to the second shift between 2 to 10 pm.

“We understand that they need to take a break because of the heat but they should rest only when there is moderate traffic so the traffic flow won’t suffer,” Ermac said.

He said he’s been advising nearly 200 traffic personnel to take periodic breaks since March.

Ermac said their personnel will also be issued caps to shield them from the heat and rain.

In Lapu-Lapu City, the City Traffic Management System (CTMS) personnel were advised to drink plenty of water and rest under the shade of trees during a lull in traffic.

“They may take turns of manning the traffic,” CITMS chief Frank Brazil said. He said traffic aides with hypertension will be assigned at night.

While they won’t be issued heat protection helmets like those used by traffic enforcers of Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Brazil said their traffic personnel are provided boots and raincoats.

“Maybe we can request helmets to protect enforcers from the heat next year,” he said. Reporter Jucell Marie P. Cuyos and Correspondent Norman V. Mendoza