Total Philippines launches first ever live traffic road safety competition

MANILA, Philippines – Road accidents and the huge volume of vehicles plying the streets on a daily basis are considered as the top reasons for the heavy traffic situation in Manila.

Around the world, road accidents claim the lives of an estimated 1.3 million people yearly, prompting experts to consider this as a public health and development crisis that is more fatal than malaria. Further, statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that 90 percent of the deaths caused by road accidents occur in low- and middle-income countries, even if these countries only account for 50 percent of the world’s total vehicles.

Here in the Philippines, statistics from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) reveal that a total of 1,833 persons were killed, while almost 29,000 people were injured in the 85,820 road accidents that were recorded in 2011. In relation to this, road accidents have also been ranked by the Department of Health (DoH) as the fourth top cause of death in the country, next to heart disease, leukemia and cancer.

Total (Philippines) Corporation Manager for Corporate Communications Malou Espina (center) with the winners of the Drive City kick-off: 1st placers Albert Joseph F. Concepcion (CAMPI) & Ronald Alan M. Canicosa (CAMPI), 2nd placers Jake Flores (Autohub) & PO3 Ricardo Capili (PNP-HPG) and 3rd placers SPO1 Jerry Atanacio (PNP-HPG) & Bembol Ricio (SMART Driving). Organized by Total (Philippines) Corporation as part of its campaign to promote road safety, Drive City takes drivers through a technical route across Metro Manila, where they are given tasks that challenge their road safety skills

As part of its campaign for road safety in the country, Total (Philippines) Corporation is launching Drive City, the country’s first live traffic driving competition in the streets of Metro Manila based on driver’s style, strategy, safety and skills.

“We are all road users, whether as drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and sadly, road safety has been taken for granted by many as evidenced by statistics from the MMDA and PNP-HPG,” says Total (Philippines) Manager for Corporate Communications Malou Espina. “Through Drive City, we aim to improve road safety awareness and ultimately, strengthen our community of safe road users.”

Drive City participants get to prove their street smarts by showcasing how to weave through traffic and how to get from one point to another without breaking any traffic rules along the whole stretch of EDSA. Each driver will be given a base point of 100; deductions will be made for every violation committed. The goal is to be able to reach one pit stop after another—where they should complete specific tasks—without breaking any road rules. The driver with the most number of points at the end of the competition wins.

“Driving like a pro means driving safely,” says Espina. “So we encourage every Filipino driver to conquer the streets of Metro Manila, one traffic sign at a time.”

Drive City is supported by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) along with the following partners and sponsors: Automobile Association of the Philippines (AAP), Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI), Safety Organization of the Philippines, Inc. (SOPI), Autohub, Nissan Motor Philippines, Inc. (NMPI), Smart Driving School and Kotse.com. To know more about Drive City, visit www.totaldrivecity.com.