Concerns about truck-related road accidents appeared online following recent reports of crashes involving the vehicles.
News of big vehicles being involved in accidents in Metro Manila and nearby areas has been surfacing, with the latest one featuring an 18-wheeler truck crashing into seven vehicles at Barangay Mambugan in Antipolo City.
Reports said the incident occurred when the truck allegedly lost its brakes while descending a section of Sumulong Highway on the afternoon of Saturday, December 7.
The truck was traveling from Quezon to Manila.
A police officer told GMA’s “24 Oras” that the driver attempted to use the brakes but found that they were no longer working.
The driver tried to avoid hitting the passing cars by steering towards the side of the road, but seven vehicles were still hit.
There were no serious injuries or fatalities reported from the crash.
Authorities said the area is prone to accidents due to the road’s sharp curve and steep slope.
A day before that, a 10-wheeler truck caused a multi-vehicle collision in the southbound part of Skyway At-Grade in Barangay Sun Valley in Parañaque City on Friday, December 6.
The crash left at least one person dead and five others injured.
Reports said the 10-wheeler’s brakes malfunctioned, pushing a pickup truck forward. The pickup then slammed into five more vehicles ahead of it.
The driver said he had checked the brakes before the trip but could do nothing when they suddenly malfunctioned.
The Land Transportation Office has preventively suspended the driver’s license of the 10-wheeler truck driver as it investigates the accident.
Also a day before that, a multiple-vehicle collision occurred during the rush hour of Thursday, December 5 on the northbound lane of the Aurora Boulevard flyover in Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City.
The crash, which happened when vehicles were heading downhill, involved a wing van truck that lost its brakes, collided with vehicles and side-swept multiple motorcycles on the side of the road.
Apart from motors, the vehicles involved were a passenger bus, a 10-wheeler closed van, an L300 van and five cars.
Investigation revealed that the wing van truck’s brakes already had issues before reaching the flyover, with the driver claiming it already felt “a bit stiff.”
The accident left four people dead and injured 30 individuals.
The LTO has already issued a show-cause order against the truck driver and its registered owner following the incident.
The driver’s driving privileges were also suspended for 90 days. He was ordered to surrender his license on or before the scheduled first hearing.
Meanwhile, the recent crashes involving trucks concerned Filipinos who noticed the successive happenings on the road.
“Halos araw-araw, puro truck or big vehicle ang sangkot sa mga patayan sa daan. Mga inosente ang nadadamay. Malimit pa, kapabayaan ng truck driver or laspag na sasakyan nila, na nakakalusot pa na maka-byahe and dahilan,” a Facebook user commented.
“Sana #LTOPhilippines, maki-revise ang provision nila sa mga reckless na truck driver,” the user added.
“Puro trucks ang cause of accidents this week ah!” another Pinoy exclaimed.
“Medyo nagiging common ‘yung [aksidente] involving truck na pumalya preno, usually [kung ‘di] luma, mga imported na converted trucks ang makikita sa scenario na ‘to,” a different user observed.
“Sana may monthly maintenance to check the safety, madaming nadadamay na motorista dahil sa kapabayaan ng pag-maintain ng ganitong klase ng sasakyan,” the user added.
Next steps
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority said it will speak with haulers and truckers to remind them of road safety and to curb road accidents following the recent crashes.
“Remind para ‘yung members nila ay masabihan na i-maintain ‘yung kanilang mga sasakyan na nasa kondisyon at maging desiplinado ‘yung mga driver sa kanilang pagmamaneho,” MMDA chairperson Romando Artes was quoted as saying.
In another report, he said that such accidents related to brake malfunction could be prevented by proper measures.
“Ang mga truck drivers na sinasabing nawalan sila ng kontrol sa preno ay maiiwasan sana kung properly maintained ang kanilang mga sasakyan,” Artes said in a radio interview.
The MMDA will also deploy enforcers to conduct surprise inspections among trucks to ensure road safety amid the Christmas rush.