ROAD ACCIDENTS IN THE PHILIPPINES

Olegario G. VILLORIA, JR., Ph.D. Crispin E.D. DIAZ, Ph.D.

Associate Professor Assistant Professor National Center for Transportation Studies, University of the Philippines, The Philippines (Received March 3, 2000)

PHL

1. INTRODUCTION
The Philippines is physically composed of approximately 7,000 islands with the current population being approximately 70 million. Motor vehicle traffic is predominant in the major islands (i.e., Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao where Metro-Manila, Metro-Cebu and MetroDavao are located, respectively) due to the countrys archipelagic nature and the fact that major cities and economic activities are located on these major islands. Motor vehicles are assembled both by large multinational corporations and local small and medium-sized enterprises. The latter use reconditioned second-hand engines usually imported from Japan. One example is the almost omnipresent Jeepney which evolved from the discarded World War II vintage jeeps that local residents adapted to serve as a type of minibus. Most large cities in the Philippines are served primarily by Jeepneys. Due to a tumultuous political situation before the 1986 EDSA revolution the economic situation did not encourage growth in motor vehicle ownership. However, less than ten years later, the total number of vehicles registered increased approximately three-fold. Also, during the years between 1981 and 1998, the number of new vehicles registered has continually increased indicating that the attrition in 1981, 1984, 1985 and 1987 was due to non-renewal of registration for older vehicles. It is apparent from these trends that the number of motor vehicles would still continue to climb.

2. HISTORICAL TRENDS
Recording accident information is in a sorry state in the Philippines. Although regular procedures have been outlined on the report of accidents, there is no single agency which keeps the information in an orderly fashion. One reason for this is that accident information is mostly used for the preparation of insurance accident claims. Thus, after the claim is properly filed, the police report no longer has any importance. There is no follow through towards the preparation of a traffic safety plan or even just the monitoring of the existing traffic safety situation. Another reason is that the Philippines National Police has undergone a series of reorganizations. Because of these, the allocation of manpower has not been very well defined with respect to collecting and storing acci-

dent details and information. In general, the accident incidence rate appears to be in a declining trend. More specifically, the same trend is observed for accidents resulting in deaths and injuries. Even property damage per number of registered vehicles follows the same general trend. It should be noted however that the rapid decline in overall incidence of accidents during the years after 1993 might be due to under-reporting of accident occurrences. Common experience would point towards a figure that is ten times larger than the reported figure. Thus, it is evident that the lack of reliable accident information will make it difficult to design a safety program with measurable results. The Philippines is divided into sixteen separate political regions. Table 3 shows that the National Capital Region (i.e., Metro-Manila) has relatively lower accident fatality rates despite the fact that it has the highest number of vehicles registered. Rapidly developing regions such as Region 4 and those in the southern island of Mindanao have higher accident fatality rates. The severe traffic congestion resulting in very low average road travel speeds (less than 12 kph) currently prevailing in Metro-Manila partly explains this observation. On the other hand, Table 4 shows the latest statistics on the level of property damage per accident is highest in the NCR. In less urbanized regions outside of Metro-Manila, serious and fatal accidents are more predominant. However, in Metro-Manila property damage in terms of value per accident occurrence is higher. There appears to be a high variability in the level of road traffic safety among regions all over the country.

3. SAFETY INITIATIVES
There is very little effort in terms of time and budget that the government allocates towards improving road traffic safety in the country. The only visible program is the Motor Vehicle Inspection System which has the objective of ensuring the operational roadworthiness selected classes of vehicles. The items under inspection include all the safety devices that road vehicles are supposed to have. Headlights, signal lights, brake systems, structural integrity of the vehicle are the main items considered. However, the implementation of this program is very limited in terms of geographic location and vehicle class. Not all vehicles are required to undergo this inIATSS Research Vol.24 No.1, 2000

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spection and there is only less than a handful of inspection facilities operating nationwide. A more recent development is the enactment into law of the Seat Belts Use Act of 1999. Full implementation of this law is set to take full effect in November 2000 in order to provide ample time for the public to equip their vehicles with seat belts.
Table 1 Motor vehicle (All Types) registration in the Philippines
Year New Renewal Total

4. CONCLUSION
There is a critical need for government to address the more fundamental problem of inadequate and inaccurate traffic accident data. Without establishing an effective accident reporting, processing and dissemination system, it would be extremely difficult not only to monitor the level of road traffic safety but also to formulate and implement cost-effective road safety programs. With the rapidly increasing motorization level, indeed the need for attention to and investments in improving road safety is a prime concern.

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Fig. 1 Motor vehicle registration trends

Table 2 Analysis of accidents in the Philippines from 1978 to 1998

Year Incidence Deaths Injuries Property damage (millions of pesos) Vehicle Accident registration incidence per (all types) 10,000 registered vehicles Accident deaths per 10,000 registered vehicles Accident injuries per 10,000 registered vehicles Million pesos in property damage per 10,000 registered vehicles

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Note: All information drawn from the Philippine Statistical Yearbook for years 19951999. (a) Vehicle registration information from Land Transportation Office. (b) Accident information from Philippine Constabulary Highway Patrol Group (19781993). (c) Accident information from Department of Defense (19961998). (d) For 1991 to 93, accident and vehicle registration information covers only NCR and Southern Tagalog Region (Region 4). (e) No information on accidents is available for years 1994 and 1995.

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8 19 2 8 19 3 8 19 4 8 19 5 8 19 6 8 19 7 8 19 8 8 19 9 9 19 0 9 19 1 9 19 2 9 19 3 94 19 95 19 9 19 6 97 19 98

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Year

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Table 3 Analysis of accident deaths by region

Region kF FC Deaths per accident kF FH kF FG kF FC Average incidence of deaths per fatal accident kF FH kF FG

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Table 4 Analysis of property damage by region

Region kF FC Property damage (millions of pesos) kF FH kF FG Average property damage per accident (millions of pesos) kF FC kF FH kF FG

Philippines Nationalv Capitalv Region Cordillerav Administrativev Region vvk IlocosvRegion vv Cagayanv Valley vv. CentralvLuzon vvL Southernv Tagalog vvO Bicolv egion R vvC Westernv indanao M vvH Centralv Mindanao vvG Easternv indanao M vvF Westernv Mindanao kS NorthernvMindanao kk SouthernvMindanao k Centralv Mindanao k. Caraga Autonomousv Regionv forvMuslimvMindanao Average

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