LTO braces for increase of motor vehicles hitting the road for Christmas
Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief Vigor D. Mendoza II ordered all the agency’s regional directors to start preparing road safety and assistance amid the expected influx of motor vehicles for the Yuletide season.
Mendoza said among the areas that they would focus on are the roads leading to and from transportation hubs like airports and bus terminals and major thoroughfares across the country.
He explained that the number of vehicles hitting the road has been noticeably increasing in various urban areas in the country, particularly in Metro Manila where traffic jams in almost all areas are reported in the past few days.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) earlier said it is expected huge volume of vehicles in Metro Manila in the coming days leading to Christmas and New Year celebrations, the reason why its personnel are now conducting aggressive clearing operations on all alternative routes.
Mendoza, for his part, said the influx of travelers are also expected once the Christmas break for students and the traditional Simbang Gabi start.
“In connection with this, I already instructed all Regional Directors to prepare the necessary road safety and assistance to all our motorists across the country in coordination with other government agencies,” said Mendoza.
He said LTO regional directors are also directed to coordinate with the Philippine National Police and local government units in the identification of accident-prone areas in order to come up with measures to prevent fatal accidents similar to what happened in Antique recently.
Mendoza explained that it is important that preventive measures are implemented before the increase of the volume of vehicles travelling the roads.
Police forces across the country were earlier ordered to target-hardening and police visibility as part of the security measures for the Yuletide season.