Life can’t be prolonged just by eating greens and avoiding cigarettes.  Despite the warnings plastered on Quarter-Pounders and six packs of king-sized menthols, being strapped on the driver’s seat alone can turn you into a statistic.  Every year, 1.2 million people die from road and traffic injuries.  Studies done by the World Health Organization (WHO) show that this figure will rise, transforming it into the third leading cause of premature death by 2020.  It strikes closer to home knowing that the death rate is highest in countries such as the Philippines, where poverty has thrown pedestrian and motorist safety as second priority.

Sure enough, this country still lacks basic knowledge of road and traffic safety awareness.  So-called products of Filipino ingenuity such as jeepneys, passenger tricycles, “kuligligs” and “skylabs” are just some of the ghastly pieces of moving death seen on our roads today.  Although these would have sufficed from a country recovering from the ashes of World War II, it doesn’t bode well in today’s world where they’re often assembled haphazardly and overloaded beyond their design.  To make matters worse, converted vehicles from Subic are starting to get popular and despite their alluring price tags, they’re not much safer than a kuliglig.  Of course, mayhem on the roads doesn’t just stop with these running pieces of junk.  There’s the case of the inexperienced driver, the poorly maintained vehicle or worst of all, the jaywalking pedestrian with steel-hard kahones.

Now, here comes the hard part: finding a solution.  People often argue that the reason for the lack of road safety trickles down to education, or rather to the absence of it.  Schools can initiate training seminars, government can institute stricter standards to license acquisition, but then it hits you: who’s paying for it?  Certainly the government can’t afford another pet project—it has the ballooning budget deficit to handle.  It’s a crisis—a crisis that’s bound to loom even bigger with the continued growth of the uneducated masses.

Fortunately, for all Filipinos, driving or not, a voice has finally spoken out.  A company has finally taken the crucial first step in transforming the Philippines into a road safety zone: Ford Philippines.  Their 2005 road and traffic safety program is part of the Ford empire’s worldwide campaign.  Locally, Ford Philippines has teamed up with the WHO, Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) and the Land Transportation Office (LTO).

Ford’s decision to embark on this program is truly commendable.  This comes from a company that has put safety as a top priority.  It has initiated a lot of industry firsts including: laminated safety glass, seatbelts, 3-point seatbelts with auto-locking retractors, dual airbags and airbag deactivation switches (for children).  In the Philippines, Ford’s family of vehicles mostly has dual airbags and anti-lock brakes as standard while maintaining high impact safety resistance.

Of course, safety can’t be limited to having a dozen airbags, anti-lock this and anti-roll that.  Everything boils down to the user, and this is where Ford’s new safety initiatives come in.  While last year merely kicked off the safety campaign, it’s this year that the program enters full throttle.  Ford has planned has planned various activities tailor made to specific audience with one goal: educate current or future motorists.  Among Ford Philippines’ plans include the Responsibility in Driver Education or RIDE program, the Road Safety Fund and Ford Day 2005.

The RIDE program is quite interesting as it brings road safety to where it will matter the most: high school and college students.  These “drivers to be” will certainly benefit from unlearning the most basic errors seen on the road today such as swerving, tailgating and brake testing.  Finally, defensive driving techniques and proper road etiquette will be taught even before these kids learn how to even depress a clutch pedal.  That said, it doesn’t mean that the program leaves out seasoned driving veterans.  The RIDE program also teaches Ford dealers, customers, employees, club members and some select members of the public about use of modern vehicle technology, proper parking, emergency situations and so forth.  The program will also disillusion anyone from turning EDSA or C5 into a Formula One circuit with driving accident facts and figures.

Another interesting initiative is the Road Safety Fund.  This aims to alleviate “lack of funds” as an excuse of poor road safety.  Beginning March 15, for every Ford and Mazda vehicle sold, Ford Group Philippines will donate P 1,000.00 to a road safety fund.  This will one day be used to promote road safety in the country including training seminars, research and studies on road safety as well as implementation of road safety projects.

Finally, Ford Day 2005 will once again be themed towards road safety awareness.  Beyond all the cool cars and fun programs, Ford Day will contain various workshops and family activities in the hope of promoting road safety awareness for the entire family.  This year, Ford will invite road safety experts to give their professional opinion on various aspects of the theme.

Ford’s road safety initiative hasn’t come at a better time.  With the expected increase of vehicle sales in the ASEAN region, particularly in the Philippines, the crowded roads will no doubt have to be content in handling more and more drivers.  And while the government can concentrate on road expansions, u-turn slots and pink barriers, it will never be able to catch up with the growing driver population.  Hopefully, even a small percentage of these drivers will learn from Ford’s safety program to make the road a safer place to be in.  If preached properly, personal beliefs can be contagious.  Hopefully, road safety will become the “in” thing since driving is a joy, not a death wish.

< back to main >