Road safety

Another ferry sinking highlights once more how we lightly regard and continue to ignore safety of life. And it is not only safety of life at sea but also safety of life on the road. Statistics show that two cases every two hours happen daily resulting in 41 deaths everyday or 16,000 lives lost annually due to vehicular accidents. Needless to say these road traffic accidents have caused enormous losses in terms of human lives and limbs as well as too much wastage of money, property, time, resources and services. According to Land Transportation Office (LTO), the estimated annual cost of these losses could easily reach P135 billion.

Fortunately this growing and dangerous menace to society had not escaped the attention of the very official that can do something about it. No less than the LTO Chief himself, retired General Arturo C. Lomibao realized the timeliness and urgency to launch an honest to goodness, most effective and sustained road safety campaign. Old soldiers they say just fade away, but not General Lomibao. He chose to keep his stars shining by undertaking this worthwhile campaign that will definitely contribute a lot to the betterment of our society.

Evidently, his experience as a general enabled him to draw up a sure fire strategy. First, he determined with the assistance of the Traffic Management Group the major causes of these road accidents and came up with the following: driver’s error; driving under the influence of liquor/prohibited drugs; mechanical defects; over-speeding; using cell phones while driving; road repair; hit and run; wrong overtaking; erroneous turning and overloading. Then realizing that for a successful campaign, the government cannot do it alone, he tapped the services and resources of the private sector.

Being a Rotarian himself, belonging to the Rotary Club of Metro Cubao, Art Lomibao was inspired by the Rotary logo depicting a “wheel” as he associated it with the “wheel of life continuously and eternally rolling in the service of our fellow men”. Hence he chose Rotary as the government’s partner in the private sector because “our journey as Rotarians will come full circle if we are faithful to the wheel” and if we realize “the nobility of becoming road safety advocates.

In tapping the Rotarians, General Lomibao appropriately connected the campaign to the Rotary’s four way test and came up with the four way test on road safety: (1) it is the truth that according to the data gathered by the LTO vehicular accidents is a growing menace in terms of loss of lives and property; (2) it is fair to all concerned since it is everyone’s responsibility to be road safety conscious and so the rules apply to all, rich or poor, public officials or private persons because it is a matter of life and death; (3) it builds goodwill and better friendships because road safety is all about being considerate to others or thinking of the other person’s well being by having self-discipline and patience; and (4) it will be beneficial to all concerned as it affects the lives of motorists and pedestrians alike, young and old among our country’s 90 million population. It is pro-life as it campaigns for zero or minimal road accidents.

And so last August 31, 2009 under the expert direction and guidance of LTO Road Safety Project Officer, Melandrew “Mel” Velasco who is also the PR Director of the Rotary Club of Cubao West, a Memorandum of Agreement was signed among three Rotary Clubs: the Rotary Club of Cubao West headed by its President Jesus “Jun” Avecilla; Rotary Club of Metro Cubao under President Jun Velasco; and Rotary Club of Metropolitan Malolos under President Edmar Abella.

The MOA calls for the collective support of all Rotarians in educating people and in campaigning for more Road Safety Volunteers from all over the country para gawin ligtas ang ating daan at mamamayan.

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