Alarmed by the reported rising number of road crash deaths, Senator Grace Poe now wants road safety and comprehensive driver’s education taught in schools as part of the Enhanced Basic Education or K to 12 Program.
Poe’s proposal was contained in her Senate Bill 1231 or the “Road Safety and Comprehensive Driver’s Education Act of 2016.”
Under the bill, basic road safety would become part of the elementary curriculum while comprehensive driver’s education should be taught as part of the junior and senior high school and higher education curricula.
In filing the proposed measure, Poe noted that road accidents have become an “emerging scourge to the country.”
“Road accidents were the fourth leading cause of mortality in 2012 and the fifth highest cause of mortality from 2008 to 2013. Road accidents accounted for 36,100 deaths for every 100,000 population from 2008 to 2013,” she said.
“In fact, health officials predict that road accidents could become the leading cause of deaths in the country by 2020– surpassing diseases of the heart, diseases of the vascular system, malignant neoplasms, and pneumonia.”
Poe said road accidents also carry an “unseen economic burden on society,” pointing out a 2005 study, which showed that that P3.5 million was lost per “fatal” road accident in terms of lost labor output, medical costs, funeral services, human costs (in terms of pain, grief and suffering) and administration costs.
At least P734,867 was also lost per “serious” road accident and P71,483 per “minor” accident, added the senator, citing the same study.
“The statistics above are extremely frustrating,” she said, noting that road accidents are the “most preventable of all the causes of mortality as such are man-made and are within our control and/or prevention.”
“They can easily be addressed by enforcing the law and promoting greater awareness of road safety. This bill seeks to contribute to the latter endeavor,” Poe added.
The senator said the bill does not only complement her Senate Bill No. 162, which calls for the creation of a “National Transportation Safety Board,” it also serves as the counterpart of a measure filed at the House of Representatives by Cavite Representative Strike Revilla.
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