EDITORIAL - More careful driving needed

A woman died in an accident involving a Transportation Network Vehicle Services (TNVS) motorcycle and a truck in the City of Manila last Wednesday afternoon. The whole thing was caught on video.

From what we can see, the motorcycle appears to have hit right the side of the truck and lost control. The rider and his passenger spilled onto the road, but it was only the passenger who was thrown under the wheels of the truck and run over.

Her helmet was of no avail since it was crushed to pieces too.

The truck driver drove on, seemingly unaware of the accident, although he has been taken into custody but refused to issue a statement, same as the motorcycle driver.

Pending further investigation we can’t say who is at fault here. But what’s certain is that someone’s actions or inaction led to someone’s death.

More care must be taken by TNVS riders. Motorcycles are fast becoming the vehicle of preference for those seeking arranged rides because of their speed and mobility, but sometimes it’s actually that speed and mobility that contribute to accidents.

We cannot say this was the case in this particular accident, but some TNVS riders act like they are still driving alone even when they have passengers. We see them recklessly zipping in and out of lanes and cutting in front of other vehicles, we can only imagine how terrified their passengers are.

More care must also be taken by those who drive big trucks as well. It cannot be denied that the bigger the vehicle one drives, the more he or she thinks the road belongs to them, and everyone else be damned.

But the thing is that the bigger the vehicle, the harder it is to stop for anything. It also stands to reason that the bigger a vehicle is the more blind spots it has, so those who handle such vehicles must always be aware of other vehicles around them, especially the smaller ones that easily get in their blind spots.