Motorbike crashes up 21% in 2018 – MMDA

MANILA, Philippines — Road crashes involving motorcycle riders in the metropolis increased by 21 percent in 2018, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said yesterday.

Riders’ education is an important part of the process of getting a license, according to MMDA traffic czar Bong Nebrija.

“That is basic information they should know. Some of them weave in and out of traffic without knowing the dangers,” he said.

Records from MMDA’s Traffic Engineering Center-Road Safety Unit showed that 26,652 motorcycle riders in Metro Manila figured in a road crash in 2018,  21 percent higher than the 22,063 riders recorded in 2017. 

The fatal road crashes dropped by 13.2 percent from 235 deaths in 2017 to 204 in 2018, but cases of “non-fatal injury” increased by 21 percent from 10,033 cases in 2017 to 12,108 in 2018.

“It is every road user’s responsibility to promote safety on the road,” Nebrija said.

MMDA data also show that Quezon City recorded the most number of fatal road crashes at 56 cases in 2018 – lower by 24.3 percent from 74 deaths in 2017.

Nebrija attributed the high incidence to the large number of motorcycle riders that pass through Commonwealth Avenue, EDSA and C-5 Road in Quezon City.

“The road design has nothing to do with the accidents. It’s the vast land area… and Commonwealth Avenue, EDSA at C5 Road pass through Quezon City. These are major roads and many (motorcycle riders) pass through them,” he said.

At 166.2 square kilometers, Quezon City has the largest land area in the National Capital Region.

Nebrija also said that another cause of the rise in road mishaps involving motorcycle riders is their apparent refusal to observe designated motorcycle lanes.

Fatal motorcycle crashes also happened in the cities of Parañaque with 29; Manila, 25; Caloocan, 18; Marikina and Valenzuela with 13 each; Las Piñas, 10; Pasig, Malabon, Pasay and Taguig with six each; Makati and Muntinlupa with five; Navotas with four; and Mandaluyong with two deaths.

No fatal road crash was reported in Pateros in 2017 and 2018.  

Nebrija said the MMDA has been organizing road safety summits and putting up more safety signs on EDSA, Commonwealth Avenue and C-5 Road to lessen the incidence of road crashes among motorcycle riders.