Safety issue needs closer look–Citom

A REFLECTORIZED sticker, the kind that alerts motorists from a distance with its neon colors, cost P600 per strip.

A bright orange sticker could warn drivers to avoid obstacles such as unlighted parts of concrete flyovers like the one in Banilad-Talamban, where a Sports Utility Vehicle crashed Saturday evening.

The lack of warning signs was raised as a public safety risk that should be corrected by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) which is in charge of the flyovers.

“The accident only goes to show the danger of flyovers without the necessary warning signs or even just high visibility reflectors,” said Sylvan “Jack” Jakosalem, chairman of the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) after photos of the traffic accident were sent to him by a concerned citizen.

Jakosalem said  Citom’s previous requests to DPWH to add warning signs for accident-prone parts of flyovers were turned down.  The reason cited was financial restraints.

Four persons on board the SUV were injured when the vehicle slammed a concrete divider at the foot of the flyover. They were discharged after initial treatment at the North General Hospital.

In a separate interview, Cebu City Councilor Richard Osmena said the accident was an isolated case.

“I don’t want to agree right away with his conclusion that flyovers are unsafe. He should also consider that most of these accidents take place after 10 p.m.  About 70 percent are due to driving under the influence (DUI) of liquor and the rest is due to over speeding. Corrective measures can always be made,” Osmeña said.

Thermoplastic pavement marking and reflectorized stickers are used in Cebu City to mark roads and other infrastructure to warn motorists and pedestrians in order to avoid accidents.

The thermoplastic pavement marking costs P 2, 500.00 pesos per linear meter. That and reflectorized sticker paper is available in local hardware stores, said Rafael Yap,  Citom executive director.

Yap earlier said it would help avoid accidents if the flyovers were already marked with these early warning devices by the DPWH before the structures are turned over to the local government. /Edison A. Delos Angeles, Correspondent