MMDA to motorists: Don’t blame barriers for accidents

Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando said yesterday that motorists should not blame barriers and lane separators for accidents but instead exercise responsible and safe driving to avoid mishaps.

He issued the call in response to allegations that the agency’s concrete barriers and lane separators along EDSA and Commonwealth Avenue are to blame for vehicular mishaps.

Fernando, in his weekly program on radio station dzBB, said the MMDA makes use of road barriers and lane separators that conform to international standards.

According to him, these devices are not killers and are actually there to prevent accidents by halting vehicles driven by intoxicated or sleepy motorists.

MMDA officials noted that EDSA and Commonwealth Avenue concrete barriers and lane separators form part of bus stops under the agency’s Organized Bus Route (OBR) scheme.

Such improvements, they said, speed up transportation, separate private from public utility vehicles, prevents swerving, and protect people from vehicles.

“These are safety devices, not obstructions,” they stressed as they appealed to motorists to simply drive safely and follow traffic laws by using the right lanes, wearing seatbelts and wearing helmets.

Fernando said Metro Manila’s main roads do not have signs to guide drivers on speed limits but there are standards for the same. He said there are also speed limit rules in areas near schools, hospitals, churches and similar establishments, which motorists should observe.

Fernando said the MMDA’s efforts to come up with schemes and programs have improved traffic along EDSA and other major roads.