SENATE president Francis “Chiz” Escudero yesterday said authorities should permanently keep “kamote” or undisciplined riders and drivers off the streets if the country wants to have safer streets.
“The Land Transportation Office (LTO) must revoke, not just suspend the license of undisciplined motorcycle riders and four-wheel drivers since they are the root cause of road accidents which claim the lives of innocent people,” Escudero said.
He was apparently irked with viral social media posts showing undisciplined riders and drivers getting involved either in road rage or major road accidents.
“Many have been adversely affected by these individuals, with some incidents even leading to violence,” he added.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) yesterday reported the number of deaths due to land transport accidents in the country rose to 13,125 in 2023, the highest recorded in over a decade.
It said this translates to a 7.2 percent increase from 2022, where 12,240 deaths were recorded.
Escudero said the lack of road discipline remains as one of the main causes of road problems in the country, even as he said that “drastic measures” should be put in place to restore normalcy on the roads.
He said the mere 90-day suspension of driver’s licenses that the LTO implements on undisciplined riders and drivers is not enough to deter bad motorists’ behavior.
“Drastic measures should be taken to restore order and revoking licenses of abusive motorists is a good first step toward achieving this,” he said.
“It cannot be overemphasized that having a driver’s license is a privilege and not a right. You have certain responsibilities while operating a vehicle. If a motorist is undisciplined, it is only proper to revoke his or her license,” he added.
PSA report
The PSA report is based on the number of deaths caused by land transport accidents which occurred from 2010 to 2023.
The land transport-related deaths in 2023 accounted for 1.9 percent of all deaths nationwide.
The PSA said young adults aged 20 to 24 consistently have the highest number of deaths due to land transport accidents from 2010 to 2023, accounting for 12.4 percent to 13.9 percent of deaths each year.
According to the report, males remained disproportionately affected by land transport accidents, consistently making up more than 80 percent of the total land transport deaths each year.
“This proportion has generally increased over time, with a slight shift only during the pandemic years, when overall mobility patterns were disrupted,” the PSA said.
From 2010 to 2023, the largest number of land transport-related deaths each year occurred consistently in the month of December, ranging from 9.5 percent to 11.8 percent of annual fatalities, with the exemption of 2020 during the pandemic, when it ranked second, next to January.
Pangasinan recorded the highest number of deaths due to road traffic accidents from 2010 to 2023, except in 2012, the PSA said. The province accounted for 3.5 percent to five percent of the total deaths each year. – With Angela Celis
