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Inspection centers not cure-all to road accidents --Recto

Philippines | National

Inspection centers not cure-all to road accidents --Recto

By Mario Casayuran

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto on Wednesday shot down claims that Private Motor Vehicle Inspection Centers (PMVICs) are the magic pill that would stop all road mishaps.

Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto

It is “wrong and misleading” to attribute all road accidents to poorly maintained vehicles, Recto stressed.

“Yes, accidents are caused by clunkers on the road, but to spin that they are solely to blame is again an overreach,” Recto said.

Recto issued the statement after attending yesterday a hybrid public hearing by the Senate public services committee chaired by Senator Grace Poe on the PMVICs and other transportation-related issues.

“Maraming aksidente na ang dahilan, madilim at walang ilaw na kalsada, nakakalitong traffic signs, pangit na daan, road barriers na mali ang pagkalagay, at walang ligtas na pedestrian lane o overpass,” Recto said. (There are many causes of accidents. It is dark and there are no lights on the road, confusing traffic signs, bad roads, misplaced road barriers, there are no safe pedestrian lanes or overpass.)

Recto pointed out that “a well-tuned car driven by someone with a high IQ who aced the driver’s test can still meet an accident if he sleeps on the wheel, or intentionally disregards a traffic light or sign.’’

The senator said peddling the PMVICs as the “magic pill” that would make all road accidents go away is in the “realm of fake news.”

‘’I agree that a robust, fair, affordable and accessible Motor Vehicle Inspection System with a public option can prevent road mishaps, which the current set-up comes short in guaranteeing. Sa puntong ‘yan, may agreement tayong lahat. So let's work out a system in which public safety wins,” he said.

“But please don’t pitch us the justification that the PMVIC is the cure-all to accidents,” Recto said.

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