BAGUIO CITY – Ninety-six percent of road crashes and road-related accidents that transpired from January to June 2024 are due to human error based on the records of the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO).
BCPO city director Francisco Bulwayan, Jr. reported a total of 401 road crash and road-related accidents for the first semester of the year where 384 are caused by human error and 17 are due to mechanical defects.
Majority or 83 percent of the recorded road accidents involved vehicles and only 17 percent involved motorcycles.
Of the total accidents, 380 or 95 percent involved local residents.
Most of the vehicular and motorcycle accidents transpired at the central business district particularly along Session Road to Governor Pack Road followed by Cabinet Hill-Teacher’s Camp, Saint Joseph Village, Legarda-Burnham-Kisad Road and Pacdal areas.
The BCPO noted that vehicular and motorcycle accidents mostly happen from 9AM to 3PM along roads with inclined slope and along straight-flat roads. Minimal incidents were noted along curved roads.
Last year, the BCPO recorded a total of 1,064 accidents, where 490 incidents transpired during the first semester still involving mostly four-wheeled vehicles.
Based on the data, Bulwayan reminds motorists to adhere to all safety laws for drivers and pedestrians, such as RA 8750 (Seatbelts Use Act of 1999), RA 10054 (Motorcycle Helmet Act of 2009), RA 10931 (Anti-Distracted Driving Act), RA 10586 (Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act), City Ordinance 7-2010 (King of the Road Ordinance of Baguio City), and City Ordinance 49-2019 (regulating the use of mobile and distracting devices while walking and crossing streets in Baguio).
Bulwayan emphasized the need to amend City Ordinance Number 18-2019, the Speed Limit Ordinance of Baguio City, which sets the speed limit at 20 Kph in the central business district and major thoroughfares, and 30 Kph on inner roads.
“Based on statistics, most of the cause of road crash incidents is human error. We believe that if the speed limit in the entire throughfares of Baguio City is set at 20 Kph to all types of vehicles, the road crash incidents will be lessened and the enforcement of the said ordinance will be easier due to uniform speed limit of vehicles,” Bulwayan said.
Bulwayan also recommends promoting alternative modes of transportation, such as public transit, cycling, and walking, to reduce the number of vehicles on city roads.