Accidents happen without warning. They may cripple physically, emotionally and financially. The best protection against them is defensive driving, but there’s one very big factor even the most conscientious driver cannot control — drivers of other cars on the road.
Most of us don’t think we will ever be in an accident; others are paranoid about them the way I am. We all know Philippine roads and drivers are notorious across the globe. My husband drives me around town but because of our decision not to buy another car to minimize maintenance expenses, there may be a need for me to give up my pampered status :-p and become the family driver in the coming months. Now, he’s the one worried about road accidents.
Fresh statistics from the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), shows that last year there were an average of 41 road accidents per day, second highest in the last five years.
Main causes of accidents were drivers’ errors (27.8%), mechanical defects (15.7%), and over-speeding (13%). How serious were these accidents? There were 674 fatalities, 3,767 injuries and 10,623 reported cases of damage to properties, the agency said.
Are you well protected against road accidents? More importantly, have you checked whether your insurance is legitimate?
Probably one of the biggest scams in the country is the number of companies reselling third-party liability (TPL) insurance. These guys are everywhere, flagging down every car that goes through registration procedures at Land Transportation Offices. They prey on those that are in a hurry (mostly everyone!). Unfortunately, that convenience can cost a lot at the most inopportune time. Most victims find out they have been scammed only when they file a claim.
May 24th, 2007 at 9:43 am
sweetlover, salve,
thanks for your insights.
yes i agree it takes 2 to make the corruption cycle complete…my suggestion is not full proof and I think there is no single solution to any problem that will be cheating or error free, that would be in a very ideal scenario which I think won’t happen in a hundred years…it is just to lessen and hopefully to control the problem to a minimal level…any solution provided to solve a problem will always have a counter solution to go around the proposed solution..it is how nature works…if we produce intelligent police officers solving police crimes, soon enough there would be smart criminals to counter that… nature always produced another way to help balance the effect…what we can do is to just tilt the scale to a level beneficial to the majority..
May 23rd, 2007 at 11:59 am
omski and sweetlover, hahaha. i should have paid for that driver’s license before i read your comments! now i dont have ignorance as an excuse for corruption. LOL. seriously, i agree with you. it takes two for corruption to happen.
May 23rd, 2007 at 11:19 am
Omski,
Corrupt people are not only the LTO personnels or the agencies concerned, but also the people availing the service of these people. If we will implement the one suggested (which I will support by the way to keep drivers educated), they may all resort to recto to get a fake certificate and submit this to LTO.I also think that there should be a simulation test for first time drivers, and evaluation test for renewals. Evaluation test will include recent ordinances from MMDA, City Ordinances, etc.
May 23rd, 2007 at 9:52 am
Hi Salve,
I think corruption is the reason for the highest percentage caused of accidents which is driver error… LTO will give you license to drive if you pay some corrupt people within LTO itself , most Filipinos loves shortcut , don’t want to take driver tests because it will mean time lost for them, so to make the process faster, people pay under the table…I know lots of people who take written driver tests with answers given to them prior to the testing…and still lots of others who just pay to avoid the practical driving test…if only we can stop this LTO practice and maybe require all drivers license applicants to present a certificate from a driving school, I think the percentage of driver errors would be much lower…