Law Group: Road Crashes Not Just Driver Fault

In the wake of two deadly crashes along the Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), law group ImagineLaw called for a shift in how the Philippines approaches road safety—urging a move away from blaming drivers alone and toward systems-level accountability.

“When road crashes like these happen, the public and the government tend to blame drivers immediately,” said Atty. Sophia San Luis, Executive Director of ImagineLaw. “But road safety is a shared responsibility between those who use the roads and those who design and manage them.”

Founded in 2016, ImagineLaw is a policy-focused law group that advocates for public health and safer mobility, including road safety and transport reform.

The recent SCTEX incident, which involved a bus crash suspected to have been caused by a fatigued driver, highlighted two key risk factors: speeding and impaired driving.

Reports indicate that the driver may have fallen asleep behind the wheel, raising questions about both individual responsibility and system failure.

San Luis emphasized the need for stronger, more consistent enforcement of speed limits, especially on expressways.

“Traffic enforcers need to conduct regular random and rotating speed enforcement, not just depend on fixed speed traps,” she said.

Beyond enforcement, ImagineLaw called for a review of the toll plaza’s design.

“Are there sufficient visual cues or road furniture to signal drivers to slow down?” San Luis asked, referring to whether signage, lighting, or lane markings are effective enough to prevent high-speed approaches.

A similar tragedy occurred at NAIA, where a vehicle reportedly lost control near a drop-off zone and killed a pedestrian.

Public reactions largely focused on the driver, but ImagineLaw argued that infrastructure also played a critical role in amplifying the consequences of error.

“When drop-off zones directly face sidewalks without physical barriers, even minor driver mistakes can turn fatal,” San Luis explained.

ImagineLaw said these cases demonstrate why road safety should not be viewed solely as a behavioral issue but as a systems design problem involving infrastructure, vehicle standards, and policy implementation.

The group noted that the Philippines already has several road safety laws, such as the 2019 Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act (RA 11229) and a 2018 joint circular on speed limit enforcement.

However, these laws are poorly enforced or remain inactive.

“We trained over 170 enforcers from the Land Transportation Office on speed enforcement in 2020,” said San Luis. “Yet many regional offices still lack the speed guns necessary for enforcement.”

Despite Republic Act 11229 being signed into law over five years ago, ImagineLaw noted that it is still not fully implemented.

The law mandates the use of child restraint systems in motor vehicles and includes public education components.

“We have seen from recent crashes that these interventions work—if they are fully enforced,” San Luis said.

The recent creation of a road safety task force by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) was welcomed by ImagineLaw but also revealed a deeper issue.

“The fact that there was no standing road safety task force prior to these incidents shows how neglected this issue is at the national level,” San Luis added.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), road crashes in the Philippines have remained consistently high.

In 2023, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) reported more than 57,000 road crash incidents in Metro Manila alone, with 331 resulting in fatalities.

Globally, the World Health Organization (WHO) ranks road injuries as the leading cause of death for people aged 5–29 years.

ImagineLaw believes that the Philippines has the necessary legal framework to reverse these trends, but gaps in enforcement, infrastructure investment, and coordination continue to undermine progress.

“We hope these incidents serve as an opportunity to bring much-needed attention to road safety,” said San Luis. “Road safety should be a government priority as we are all road users.”

The group is calling for an integrated approach that includes:

Prioritizing full enforcement of existing road safety laws

Investing in infrastructure that reduces risk, such as protected sidewalks, barriers, and improved signage

Institutionalizing road safety efforts across government agencies with dedicated funding and mandates

San Luis added that road safety is not just a transport issue but also a public health concern that affects families, communities, and the economy.

With thousands of road deaths occurring annually in the country and an estimated global economic loss of USD 1.8 trillion from road traffic injuries, according to the World Bank, addressing the root causes of crashes is not just a moral imperative—it’s also an economic one.

As ImagineLaw continues to push for systemic reforms, it hopes that recent high-profile tragedies will compel lawmakers, agencies, and the public to treat road safety with the urgency and seriousness it demands.