One cannot help but shake one's head in utter disbelief, and frustration. When I heard of the first news about vehicles falling off the Skyway, I naturally thought of the two figuring in an accident that caused them to go over the edge. But as more of the news came in, it became apparent that it was the bus that fell on top of a closed van. Then news of the body count started to come in. More than ten, eighteen, twenty, some have it as high as twenty-two, with more than a dozen injured, some seriously.
Then the witnesses started to give their accounts of what happened. A lady driver who was overtaken by the already verified speeding bus saw how fast it was traveling. If she was already doing about 80-90, then the bus was definitely traveling at over 110-120 kilometers per hour. She also noticed the bus swerving from side to side, because the road was wet. A surviving passenger of the bus pretty much verified these accounts, saying the driver was speeding and was having a hard time controlling the bus. It started to sway violently before hitting the protective railing and going over, landing on a closed van that was traveling along the service road below. The only thing the two witnesses did not see was death already following the bus.
This is where I shook my head. A speeding bus on a wet road, in the hands of an obviously incompetent driver. Definitely an accident waiting to happen. Then, to make my head shaking worse, photos of the ill-fated bus showed most of its tires worn smooth. The vernacular has a much better description, "kalbo". If you do not know that worn out tires and a wet road do not go together well, then you definitely have no business driving any kind of vehicle, let alone a public transport bus! So why was this driver behind the wheel? Unbelievable.
Only the Don Mariano Transit Corporation knows for sure. Obviously, it is the responsibility of the company to keep its fleet of buses in tiptop shape, not to mention safe to drive. They obviously did not do that to this bus, choosing to scrimp on tires and let the bus keep earning money. It is also the responsibility of the company to hire competent, responsible drivers, who should consider the safety of his passengers at all times which in this case is an utterly blatant disregard for that particular requirement. Because of that, scores are dead and injured. To top all that, The Don Mariano Transit Corporation has apparently made it to an official list of dangerous bus companies.
I am frustrated because it had to take a deadly accident, again, for measures to be taken. The company is now suspended, as it automatically happens with accidents involving a death or deaths. Their fleet of buses will be subject to inspection for roadworthiness, and its drivers for competence, including mandatory drug testing. But I ask, what for? The company already has a string of accidents to its name. It allowed at least this bus to travel with obvious unsafe conditions, in the hands of an obvious incompetent, if not totally ignorant driver. Shouldn't the LTFRB just cancel its franchise?
Or are there compelling reasons for it to go on operating, until the next accident happens? This is after all, the Philippines.