Groups urge motorists to ‘stop for children’

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The Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Health (DOH) on Sunday joined public interest law group ImagineLaw in reminding Filipino motorists to ‘share the road and stop for children.’

ImagineLaw urged drivers to observe traffic rules, drive under the speed limit, and abide by road safety policies to avoid road crashes that oftentimes lead to casualties involving children.

“Hindi pwedeng hari-harian sa kalsada,” said Atty. Daphne Marcelo, the law group’s Project Manager for Road Safety. “We need to learn how to build a community and a road system that protect vulnerable road users, especially children,” she added.

The groups made the call during DOH’s Pista ng Kalusugan, an outdoor weekend-long festival at the Quezon Memorial Circle to promote Filipinos’ health and well-being. DepEd Assistant Secretary Dr. Dex Galban and DOH Health Promotion Bureau Chief Rodley Carza joined the call.

ImagineLaw, citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), said that at least 1,670 Filipino children are killed by road crashes every year. “Road crashes are an epidemic that kills our children,” Marcelo said. Just last month, a 5-year-old was killed by a passing truck in Taguig, the law group also cited.

“We need to work together in building a set of solutions to end this epidemic: safer driving behavior, better infrastructure for pedestrians, commuters, and drivers, and strict and sensible enforcement of traffic rules,” she also said.