DepEd urged: Teach kids ABCs of road courtesy

An official of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has urged the Department of Education to include road safety and courtesy in the curriculum for primary and secondary schools.

In a recent letter sent to Education Secretary Armin Luistro, LTFRB board member Ariel Inton said that proper education may help reduce the number of traffic violations committed every day.

“Unless we inculcate in the minds of our future generation that our overall attitude as motorists and pedestrians is critical in solving and preventing crimes on the road, we will suffer from these persistently,” Inton added.

According to him, he has acted on complaints from the riding public and other transport groups on a daily basis “but the problems persist because the people seem to have lost their sensibility and commitment to be part of the solutions that we seek or at least avoid being part of the problem.”

“I would like to respectfully suggest that the Department of Education consider [including] in the curriculum for the primary and secondary education the principles of road courtesy and to reintroduce to… our youth the importance of road safety,” Inton said.

Based on the latest figures of the Land Transportation Office, the most frequently committed traffic violation nationwide in 2014 was not using a seatbelt with 91,161 cases.

This was followed by failure to present the vehicle’s registration papers (65,243); reckless driving (55,221); obstruction (45,399); unregistered/invalid vehicle registration (34,082); and driving without a license (31,303). Erika Sauler and Inquirer Research