Commonwealth Avenue no longer a killer highway

MANILA, Philippines - Several years ago, Commonwealth Avenue earned the tag of being Metro Manila’s most dangerous highway because of numerous vehicular accidents that usually result in tragic deaths.

But because of the city government’s efforts instill discipline among both motorists and pedestrians, fewer and fewer people are getting killed or injured along what used to be known as Quezon City’s “killer road.”

“Tanga na lang ang naaksidente dito (Only fools meet accidents here),” Senior Police Officer 1 Gary Talacay of the Quezon City Police District’s Traffic Sector 5 said in an interview.

He said the C5-Kalayaan Road cutting through Makati and Taguig cities is now more dangerous than Commonwealth Avenue, but did not cite any figures to back up his claim.

According to him, gone are the days when an average of three to five persons a month are killed in vehicular mishaps along Commonwealth Avenue.

“The number of accidents has drastically declined. We are at an all-time low,” Talacay told The STAR, adding that extensive awareness campaigns, road modifications, the construction of additional footbridges, and other programs and projects by the government have finally paid off.

“Dati tatlo singko ang buhay dito eh. Ngayon, kung maaksidente ka, tanga ka na or reckless driver ka talaga (Lives used to be cheap here. Now, if you are in an accident, you are either a fool or a reckless driver),” he said.

Talacay said Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr.’s Sumusunod sa Batas (Following the Law) or SB Zone program worked effectively in reminding drivers, commuters, and pedestrians of how following road rules will benefit everyone.

Aside from fewer road accidents, he said travel time along Commonwealth Avenue’s 10-kilometer stretch from Fairview to Philcoa has also improved over the past year or two.

At present, nine traffic policemen; 38 traffic enforcers from the city government’s department of public order and safety, also called “yellow boys;” and 15 to 20 traffic enforcers from the Metro Manila Development Authority work in shifts to regulate vehicular traffic along the avenue.