Child road safety program pushed in House

A CONGRESSMAN on Monday called for the creation of a Child Road Traffic Injury Prevention (CRTIP) program nationwide.

BHW Rep. Angelica Natasha Co, the chairman of the House Committee on Welfare of Children, said in a statement that «too many children are victims of road crashes and mishaps.»

«In the Philippines, there are around 35 road crash fatalities happening per day, or an estimated 12,690 fatalities in a year, according to Unicef Philippines,» Co said, referring to the United Nations Children's Fund.

Co proposed that every city, municipality, and barangay must have its own CRTIP program.

Such a program has been piloted in Valenzuela City and Zamboanga City, she said.

«There must be greater and more intense vigilance by traffic enforcers, barangay tanods, PNP (Philippine National Police) highway patrols, and at security checkpoints,» Co added.

«There should be low-speed limits around schools, on side streets, and on city roads. On these streets, minor pedestrians must have the right of way whether they are crossing pedestrian lanes or not, whether they are on sidewalks or not,» she said.