CAUSES OF ROAD ACCIDENT WITHIN METRO MANILA

A Research Paper

Presented to

Prof . Ma. Carmen B. Camacho

Rizal Technological Univers i ty

In Part ia l Ful f i l lment

of the Requirements

in Engl ish 2

Submit ted

By

Bernard Al lan A. Cacawa

May 2011

CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

This chapter deals wi th the Introduct ion of the conducted research, The

Importance of the problem and the Statement of the problem.

Introduction

Accidents these days can be severely dangerous to people. There

are many types of accidents which occur in our country. An accident   is

a speci f ic , unpredictable, unusual and unintended external act ion which

occurs in a part icular t ime and place, wi th no apparent and del iberate

cause but wi th marked ef fects. I t impl ies a general ly negat ive outcome

which may have been avoided or prevented had c i rcumstances leading

up to the accident been recognized, acted upon, pr ior to i ts occurrence.

One of the accidents occur in our country is road accidents.

These accidents actual ly occur in roads, h ighways or even in st reets.

People wi th vehic les are the main v ict ims of road accidents. But , what

could be the causes of th is k ind of accident? What could be the

solut ion to prevent th is?

As the main focus of th is research paper and as one of the

leading causes of death in the Phi l ippines, I choose the causes of road

accidents wi th in Metro Mani la. I a lso inc luded the reasons of road

accidents and the prevent ive measure to avoid road accidents.

Importance of the Study

The research was made not only for the dr ivers that a l ready

exper ienced the road accident but a lso al l vehic le dr ivers to inform

them the causes of the road accidents which are al ready occurr ing

wi th in Metro Mani la. Also, th is research inform the about the reasons

causing the road accident . To prevent the road accident , th is research

also includes the prevent ive measures to avoid the road accidents.

Statement of the Problem

1. What are Road Accidents?

2. What are the Causes of Road Accident wi th in Metro Mani la?

3. What are the Reasons of Road Accident wi th in Metro Mani la?

4. What Prevent ive measures to avoid th is k ind of inc ident?

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter deals with the review of the crit ical points of current knowledge including substantive f indings about the conducted research.

ACCIDENTS

An accident is a specific, unpredictable, unusual and unintended external action which

occurs in a particular time and place, with no apparent and deliberate cause but with

marked effects. It implies a generally negative outcome which may have been avoided

or prevented had circumstances leading up to the accident been recognized, and acted

upon, prior to its occurrence.

Experts in the field of injury prevention avoid use of the term 'accident' to describe

events that cause injury in an attempt to highlight the predictable and preventable

nature of most injuries. Such incidents are viewed from the perspective

of epidemiology - predictable and preventable. Preferred words are more descriptive of

the event itself, rather than of its unintended nature (e.g., collision, drowning, fall, etc.)

Accidents of particularly common types (auto, fire, etc.) are investigated to identify how

to avoid them in the future. This is sometimes called root cause analysis, but does not

generally apply to accidents that cannot be deterministically predicted. A root cause of

an uncommon and purelyrandom accident may never be identified, and thus future

similar accidents remain "accidental."

Types

Physical and non-physical

Physical examples include, e.g., unintended collisions or falls, being injured by touching

something sharp, hot, or electrical, or ingesting poison. Non-physical examples are,

e.g., unintentionally revealing a secret or otherwise saying something incorrectly,

forgetting an appointment, etc.

By activity

Accidents during the execution of work or arising out of it are called work accidents.

In contrast, leisure-related accidents are mainly sports injuries.

By vehicle

Bike accident

Tram accident

Traffic collision

Sailing ship accidents

Road accidents now 4th leading cause of death -- DOH

abs-cbnNEWS.comPosted at 11/07/2008 12:54 AM | Updated as of 11/07/2008 12:54 AM

Road accidents are now the fourth leading cause of death in the Philippines according to the Department of Health (DOH) as proved by the string of highway mishaps during the past weeks.

In a road safety seminar at the University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman, Dr. Cecile Magturo of the DOH said fatigue due to long driving hours contribute greatly to drivers losing control of their vehicles.

“Drivers are bent on trying to reach their quota, that is where we have problems, accompanied by fatigue,” she said in the vernacular.

While road accidents caused by human error accounted only for a small two percent of the total rate, Magturo said she still blames operators and concerned agencies for their insufficient safety policies.

It the trend continues, health officials said they fear that road accidents could become the leading cause of deaths in the country by the year 2020.

All about attitude

According to Vip Isada of the Automobile Association of the Philippines, road accidents can be prevented if drivers correct their driving behavior.

"Driving is behavioral,” says Isada. “When you say behavioral that means its what you believe yourself, that is how you would drive. It’s only necessary that you believe that when it’s red it means stop, not stop when you see it’s green.”

However, the long driving hours remains an issue among drivers of public utility vehicles.

Driver Gerry Arcilla said he usually starts his daily grind at 4 a.m. He drives for 18 straight hours until 12 midnight.

“Sometimes it’s being sleepy,” said Arcilla in the vernacular. “That’s the main problem of drivers… sleepiness.”

When fatigue sets in, it is not unusual for driver to become irritable. This, according to health experts lead to driving errors and accidents.

This is why the Land Transportation Office (LTO) plans to issue a circular that will limit the working hours of bus and jeepney drivers.

“There should be a limit on the number of hours that they can drive,” said LTO chief Asec. Alberto Suansing also in the vernacular. With a report from Alex Santos, ABS-CBN News

2,500 caught speeding along 'killer highway'

abs-cbnNEWS.comPosted at 03/30/2011 10:17 PM | Updated as of 03/31/2011 11:02 AM

MANILA, Philippines – About 2,500 motorists have already been caught violating the speed limit in Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said.

The speed limit was implemented early this year.

The 12.4-kilometer stretch of road has been known as a “killer highway” for the high number of accidents that occur in the area.

This prompted MMDA to implement a 60-kph speed limit to regulate the speed of the vehicles.

MMDA said around 80% of offenders were private vehicles, while 20% were public vehicles, which includes government vehicles.

MMDA is planning to enforce similar speed limit regulations along Roxas Blvd., Osmeña Blvd and C-5 Road.

Leading Causes of Road Accidents in the Philippines

June 29th, 2010

On my way to work this morning, we were slowed down by traffic caused by yet another car accident. This time it involved a car and a pick-up truck. I am glad nobody was hurt, but I felt sad because the car was brand new and the pick-up had nice truck accessories. And more importantly, the accident could have been prevented had either one been more patient and more cognizant of traffic rules.

Which made me think about the leading causes of road accidents here in the country. I got the figures from Yahoo Answers:

Cause -  Number / Frequency (%)

1. Driver Error - 4,222 / 25.722. Speeding - 2,908 / 17.713. Mechanical Defects - 2,003 / 12.204. Overtaking - 2,042 / 12.445. Turning - 1,543 / 9.406. Overloading - 1,174 / 7.157. Self Accidents - 806 / 4.918. Road Defects - 783 / 4.779. Hit and Run - 673 / 4.1010.Others - 123 / 0.7511.Drunk Driving - 94 / 0.5712.Using Cellular Phones - 47 / 0.29

CHAPTER III

PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

This chapter presents the results of the conducted survey and its interpretation

Profile of the students

A. Gender

Gender Frequency Percentage

Male 3 21%

Female 11 79%

TOTAL 14 100%

Table A shows that the number of female respondents is dominant than the

number of male respondents. The female respondents are composed of 11 students

which are 79% of the total number of respondents while the male respondents are

composed of 3 students which are 21%.

B. Age Range

Age FREQUENCY Percentage

16 2 14%

17 9 65%

19, 20, 22 3 21%

TOTAL 14 100%

Table B shows that respondents are ranging from 16 to 22 years of age. 14%

from the 16 years olds, 65% from the 17 year olds, 7% from the 19 years olds same

with the 20 years olds and 22 years olds.

Incidents of Road Accidents within Metro Manila

Table 2

INCIDENTS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Driver Error 6 2 2 1 2 1

Road Defects 4 2 1 3 2 1 1

Mechanical Defects 1 2 2 1 1 4 3

Drunk Driving 7 1 1 2 3

Using Cellular phone while driving 3 2 2 2 1 4

Overloading 3 4 1 1 2 3

Overspeeding 2 3 3 2 3 1

Turning/Swerving 1 1 6 4 2

In Table 2, Drunk Driving got the highest rating being the highest

occurring incidents of road accidents within Metro Manila as rated by the

respondents. Secondly, i t fol lows by Road defects. Then, Overloading got

on the third place. After overloading, Overspeeding takes place on fourth.

Then, Road defects take place on fifth. Next is Turning/Swerving on sixth

place and seventh place. Then, Mechanical defects also on the seventh

place. Lastly, Using cellular phone while driving is on the eight and final

place of the occurring incidents of road accidents within Metro Manila as

rated by the respondents.

Reasons of Road Accidents within Metro Manila

Table 3

REASONS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Lack of Discipline 7 2 3 1 1

Violation of Traffic Rules 3 5 4 1 1

Lack/Limited in Driving Knowledge 2 1 2 4 2 1 2

Inattentiveness 1 5 2 1 2 2 1

Lack in Traffic Equipment 2 2 1 6 2 1

Lack of Vehicle Maintenance 2 1 3 2 4 2

Sudden change in weather 1 2 4 2 2 3

Eeriness 1 1 1 2 1 3 5

In Table 3, Lack of Discipline got the highest rating being the Most

Reasons of road accidents within Metro Manila as rated by the

respondents. Secondly, i t fol lows by Violation of traff ic rules. Then,

Inattentiveness got on the third place. After that, Lack/Limited on driving

knowledge takes place on fourth. Then, Sudden change on weather takes

place on fifth. Next is Lack in traff ic equipment on sixth place. Then, Lack

in Vehicle Maintenance on the seventh place. Lastly, Eeriness (dark long

road tunnels, balete drives, etc.) is on the eight and final place of the

reasons of road accidents within Metro Manila as rated by the

respondents.

Preventive measure to avoid road accidents

Table 4

Preventive Measures 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Seminar about Proper driving 4 2 3 1 2 1 1

Implement a speed limit 1 2 1 4 2 2 2

Training programs for drivers 2 3 2 1 2 1 2 1

Always check the vehicle’s BLOWBAG 2 4 2 2 3 1

The Government should allot budget for roads

1 1 2 3 1 4 2

Always have discipline while driving 1 1 4 3 1 2 1 1

Avoid Long trips during night 1 1 1 4 3 4

Avoid Overloading 1 2 2 1 2 1 5

In Table 4, Seminar about Proper Driving got the highest rating

being the Most Preventive measures to avoid road accidents as rated by

the respondents. Secondly, i t fol lows by Always check the vehicle’s

BLOWBAG got on second place and on fifth place. Then, Always have

Discipline while driving got on third place. After that, Implement a speed

l imit got on fourth place. Then, The Government should allot budget for

road defect got on seventh place and also got on fifth place. Lastly, Avoid

Long trips at night are on the eight and final place of the Preventive

measures to avoid road accidents as rated by the respondents.

CHAPTER IV

Conclusion and Recommendations

This chapter deals with the conclusions or the f inal results of the

conducted research and the recommendation for the problem

Conclusions

1. Majority of the respondents are female between 16 to 20 years of age.

2. Drunk driving is the most causing incident of road accidents within

Metro Manila while using cellular phone while driving is the least

causing incident of road accident within Metro Manila as identif ied by

the respondents.

3. Lack of Discipline is the most identif ied reason of road accidents within

Metro Manila while using Eeriness is the least identif ied reason of road

accidents within Metro Manila as identif ied by the respondents.

4. Proper driving is the most suggested preventive measure to avoid road

accidents while Avoid Overloading is the least suggested preventive

measure to avoid road accidents as identif ied by the respondents.

Recommendations

1. The Land Transportation Office should conduct seminars about proper

driving in avoidance of road accidents.

2. All drivers should always check the condit ion of their vehicle and

always obey traff ic rules to avoid road accidents.

3. The Government should allot budget for the construction of new roads

and repairing defect roads.

4. A driver must avoid long trips during at night and always follow speed

l imits implemented by the government.

5. A driver must always have discipline while or before driving to avoid

road accidents

NAME (OPTIONAL): _____________________GENDER:____________________

AGE: ___________

DIRECTION: Please rate the following choice from 1 (Highest) to 8 (Lowest)

1. Incidents of Road Accidents within Metro Manila Driver Error Road Defects Mechanical Defects Drunk Driving Using Cellular phone while driving Overloading Over speeding Turning/Swerving

2. Reasons of Road Accidents within Metro Manila Lack of Discipline Violation of Traffic Rules Lack/Limited in Driving Knowledge In attentiveness Lack in Traffic Equipment Lack of Vehicle Maintenance Sudden change in weather Eerie (dark long road tunnel, balete drives, etc.)

3. Preventive measure to avoid Road Accidents Seminar about Proper Driving Implement a speed limit Training programs for Drivers Always check the vehicle’s BLOWBAG (Brake, Lights, Oil, Water, Battery, Air, and Gasoline) The Government should allot budget for road defects Always have disciple while driving Avoid long trips during night Avoid Overloading

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ONLINE JOURNALS AND BLOGS:

ABS-CBN NEWS OFFICIAL WEBSITE:

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/03/30/11/2500-caught-

speeding-along-kil ler-highway

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/11/06/08/road-

accidents-now-4th-leading-cause-death-doh

http://amonthestreets.com/2010/06/29/leading-causes-of-road-accidents-

in-the-phil ippines/

Department of health off icial website: www.doh.gov.ph

WEBSITES:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accident