Healthy public policy

Compulsary Use of Seatbelts

Compulsary Use of Seatbelts

by Ma Abegail Aguila -
Number of replies: 0

Driving and traveling have always been a part of the everyday routine of a Filipino. Workers and students typically travel everyday, especially during the weekdays,  from their homes to their workplace and schools respectively. Some people also travel to accomplish their personal agendas for the day  and sometimes, for leisure purposes by visiting different places. Despite its importance, safety on the road has still been a concern for the public as a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) indicates road traffic deaths continue to rise in the Philippines, with estimated 12,690 deaths in 2016. It is also stated in the WHO Global Status Report on Road Safety 2018 that road traffic injuries are now the leading killer of children and young people aged 5-29 years around the world. (World Health Organization, 2018). Hospital records in Metro Manila also reveal that vehicular accidents occur 3-4 times a week with peak frequency at 3:00 PM. The escalating number of deaths among road traffic accidents nationwide is indeed a pressing concern and calls for the mobilization of the solutions on road safety as one death is indeed too many for an issue that is highly preventable.    

One of the healthy public policies implemented to address road safety issues is Republic Act No. 8750 which requires the mandatory compliance by motorists of private and public vehicles to use seat belt devices, and requiring vehicle manufacturers to install seat belt devices in all their manufactured vehicles. As stated, both motorists and vehicle manufacturers are the target population as they have an equally important role in compliance to this law. Wearing seatbelts will ensure the safety of its drivers and passengers because it reduces the risks of developing serious injuries in a crash by 50% and risk of death by 45%.It keeps the drivers and passengers safe and secured inside the vehicle, whereas not buckling up with seat belts can result in being ejected from the vehicle during a crash, which causes more serious risk of injuries and death. In fact, it is found that more than 3 out of 4 people who are ejected during a fatal crash die from their injuries. (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011) Although this has been implemented, there is still a need for the enhanced enforcement of the law. Aside from this, other concerns on road safety shall also be addressed such as the strict compliance of the transportation office to ensure the knowledge and skills of drivers to road safety before issuing driver’s license, campaigning for the use of safer vehicles,  building transport infrastructure and safer roads to prevent road accidents, and effective and stricter regulation of the situation on the road. 

In our locality, the law on the compulsory use of seatbelt is being implemented. However, the regulation of the compliance of drivers is still lacking as I personally witnessed some drivers not wearing seatbelts. Although it is universally known for its importance, there is still a lack of enforcement of its urgency. This issue might also be neglected in public health due to the view of these events as mere “accidents” and random events. Hence, this shows that there is still a need for a strengthened provision of traffic safety education and road safety culture. 

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