Motorcycle crash deaths on the rise – study

MANILA, Philippines - Deaths from motorcycle accidents are on the rise, according to a study released by a local think tank.

Thinking Machines (TM), a Taguig City-based research team, said it conducted its own study after the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that road accidents are one of the leading causes of deaths in the Philippines.

Using data from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the think tank said road mishaps kill 8,499 Filipinos every year. There were 90,258 accidents recorded in 2014 in Metro Manila alone.

Should the figure continue to increase, the Department of Transportation and Communications projected that between 2010 and 2020, some 300,000 Filipinos would die from road accidents.

Deaths due to motorcycle crashes are on the rise, TM said.

‘Casualty likelihood’

The team used “casualty likelihood” to predict future trends in road accidents.

The report, released on Oct. 1, projected that 44 percent of the fatalities would be pedestrians and that accidents that occur before dawn were thrice more likely to result in injuries or deaths.

The team also predicted that there would be an 80 percent chance of instant death for victims if a truck and bicycle were involved in an accident.

Motorcycle riders are the most vulnerable to accidents, particularly when they do not wear protective gear.

TM said motorcycle crashes were over five times more likely to result in death or injury compared with other road accidents.

The think tank also said statistics showed that bicycle riders have a 66.8 percent chance of figuring in an accident.

Motorcycle riders came in second with 52.6 percent and are more at risk if they are traveling along Metro Manila’s roads.

Meanwhile, in a span of 10 years, data showed more pedestrians would hit by motorcycles compared to other type of vehicles. 

Since 2005, a total of 57,877 pedestrians were victims of road accidents. Out of these numbers, 56,018 survived the mishap while 1,859 people died.

Based on MMDA data from 2005 to August 2015, 193 pedestrians were killed by motorcycle accidents while 18,586 injuries were recorded.

Because of the rising population of motorcycle riders in the Philippines, Motorcyclists’ Rights Organization (MRO) was established in 2008 to defend the rights of motorcycle users.

In an interview with Jing Morales, MRO secretary, she emphasized that the top three causes of motorcycle-related accidents are drunk driving, reckless driving and poorly maintained motorcycles.

She said the MRO, which has 55,000 members, has been conducting workshops to help prevent motorcycle accidents.