Metro streets more deadly for pedestrians DJ Yap Inquirer
February 26, 2007
MANILA, Philippines -- Crossing the street is more dangerous than you think.
More than half of the victims of fatal road accidents in the metropolis last year were neither drivers nor passengers but pedestrians, records from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority showed.
Contrary to common perception that road accidents mostly involve motorists, MMDA officials found that people walking in the streets tend to figure more in deadly vehicular mishaps than those riding in cars or motorcycles.
Based on MMDA’s 2006 annual report called “Metro Manila Accident Reporting and Analysis System,” slightly more than half -- or 51.21 percent -- of those killed in road mishaps last year were pedestrians.
Drivers comprised more than 30 percent of the total, while passengers were the luckier group, accounting for only 11 percent, the figures showed.
Out of 371 fatalities from road mishaps, 190 were pedestrians, 137 were drivers, and 44 were pedestrians, the records showed.
In terms of injuries, however, the numbers showed a different story: More drivers were wounded compared to passengers.
Out of 13,972 people who were injured last year, 5,128 or 36.7 percent were drivers. Passengers, on the other hand, constituted 32.24 percent of the total with 4,505 victims. Pedestrians comprised slightly less than a third of the total at 31.05 percent or 4,339 injured persons, the data showed.
The figures also revealed that Quezon City remained the deadliest place for both motorists and pedestrians with 124 fatalities. On the other hand, the southern part of Metro Manila, which includes Makati City, had 93 victims.
The eastern and northern portions of the metropolis were third and fourth with 56 and 52 fatalities, respectively, while in Manila, 46 persons were killed, the numbers showed.
