Road Safety and Traffic Education (RoSTed): The Institutionalization, Certification, and Standardization of Road Safety and Traffic Education in the Philippines A Concept Paper Researchers: Dr. Benjamin G. Quito Dr. Villamor S. Quebral Dr. Edna C Aquino Rizal Technological University Graduate School Boni Avenue, Mandaluyong City Philippines 1
ABSTRACT This concept paper is the third and part of a three-fold system for an efficient management of the traffic situation in EDSA. This paper focuses on Road Safety Education, Traffic Education and dissemination of Driving Laws. This paper is also focused on the institutionalization of Road Safety and Traffic Education (RoSTed) in Philippine schools and local communities which also includes professionalization of Public Utility Vehicles driver and issuance of Driver s license. Keywords: Road Safety Education (RSE), Traffic Education, Driving Law, Professional driver I. INTRODUCTION This concept paper is the last part of the three approaches in easing the traffic flow in EDSA. 1) Smart Transport System, 2) Smart Traffic Operations Procedure, 3) Traffic Education. The focus of this concept paper is Traffic Education. The concept includes institutionalization of traffic education in the country by the inclusion of Road Safety Education (RSE) in the K-12 program. Since there is a proposal from the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to raise the minimum age of the citizen who will be driving from 16 years old to 17 years old, it is timely to include driving skills in the K-12 program in the grade 11-12. RSE can be taught to students as early as Kindergarten to Grade 3 as part of the curriculum. This will teach our students on how to become a responsible citizen in terms of following road safety procedures and will produce responsible driver. TESDA will provide National Certification 1 (NC1) for: a) traffic enforcer b) bus driver c) taxi driver d) tri-cycle driver. The purpose of the certification is to professionalize the profession of providing services for the commuters. This will also make sure that the drivers of utility vehicles are professional and properly educated in the rules and regulations of driving their vehicles. In return, this will produce drivers proper ethical behavior in the use of the roads which will help in minimizing traffic congestion by adhering properly in the traffic rules and regulation. 2
Standardization of the Philippine Driver s License will be put in effect to make sure that all those who will be driving the streets and roads of the Philippines are well educated in road safety, traffic rules and regulations, and adhering to professional courtesy in driving. The LTO will professionalize the driving of vehicles by deputizing schools and training centers to conduct Road Safety Education for the would be drivers. This will be a mandatory training before taking the practical driving examination. This will speed up the issuance of a driver s license by removing the lecture before the actual driving test. The written examination before the practical driving examination will still be part of the process. In this way there will be no drivers in the streets and roads of the Philippines who will operate vehicles who are not aware of the rules and regulations of traffic. Traffic Education will make use of Quad-Media in educating the public regarding traffic education in EDSA. Quad-Media is the use of TV, Radio, Print, and Internet to disseminate information to the public. Traffic Education will also be included as part of RSE and will be taught in the K-12 program of DepEd, this will also include TESDA and CHED. This will ensure that the citizens going to EDSA will be aware of the rules and regulation being implemented, as the law states that Ignorancia Legis Neminem Excusat or ignorance of the law excuses no one. THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND To give an understanding of the whole picture of this concept paper we must first try to understand who the two major users of EDSA are. The two major users of EDSA are the Drivers and the Pedestrians. This paper focuses on the two major users; both must learn Road Safety Education and Traffic Education in order to harmonize the efficient use of EDSA. 1. Lack of understanding of Driver s and Pedestrian s Obligation on the Road Carl Wais gave an explanation of the Driver s and Pedestrians obligation on the road in his article Highway Traffic Offences. This states that everyday news of road accidents 3
involving cars and pedestrians are prevalent. However, many of us are not aware of the responsibilities of the driver and the pedestrian. When a driver hit a pedestrian, the court holds the driver responsible and it is up to the driver to prove his innocence. Which brings us to the question as to where do drivers and pedestrians stand in relation to each other? When an accident does takes place between a pedestrian and a motor vehicle that has the greater responsibility? How should we see who is at fault, is it the driver or the pedestrian? What accounts of actions must be considered to see who is accountable? These are some basic questions that the driver and pedestrians must be made aware of, if one is aware of the consequences of its action one will be carefully not to trample into anyone s right on the road. For example, does a pedestrian know the General Pedestrian Rules? Do we even have one? Is it institutionalized? Are the pedestrians aware of it? Where was it taught? Who teaches it? Does a driver know about the Driver Obligations and Pedestrians right of way? Or the does the Driver know the Motorist duty of care? We must face the fact that there is no formal way to teach drivers and pedestrians regarding the rules and regulations, the actions that one must do and what are the responsibilities. 2. Lack of Awareness of the Driving Laws in the Philippines Not all drivers are aware of the driving laws in the Philippines, presently, a driver driving a Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) only need a professional driver s license to provide service on the road. Do they have formal training? Are they aware of the driving laws? Do they know about the obligations of a driver? The answer to the questions is a resounding No not most of them only a handful few who have taken formal driving lessons, but the reality is that not all driving schools provide these lessons as well. Are drivers aware of the Right of Way? Do they know who has the right of way in a given situation? Are they aware of the proper use of headlights? Are they aware of all the traffic 4
signs? Do we have a unified traffic signs all-over the Philippines? Or we have traffic signs but differ in one place. 3. Lack of Formal Training for Drivers and Pedestrians There are many driving institutions or driving schools existing today, however, there is no formal curriculum for driving instructions, there may be some regulations in establishing driving schools in the country but there are no certified content and materials which will be used in all driving schools. Moreover, the citizens will have to pay a hefty tuition fee to enroll in such driving schools. Therefore, those who can afford are the only ones undergoing formal training in driving. Most of the drivers, if not all, thriving in EDSA and the rest of the country perhaps, rely on non-formal driving lessons. Non-formal driving lessons are those drivers who learn how to drive vehicles on their own or guided by their friends or families. More often than not, those who teach driving lessons to others did not go to a formal driving lesson. There is no law or a guideline which states that there should be institutionalized driving lessons in the country. For all we know little knowledge is dangerous literally and figuratively. III. PURPOSE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT The purpose of this concept paper is to address the problems mentioned above and to support the other two approaches of the total solutions in alleviating the traffic problem in EDSA. There may be several ways to solve the existing problem in EDSA, however, some of them are very expensive and will require heavy construction of infrastructure. Some are unachievable in the present situation of the country, while others are good in papers but lacks potential in the real world scenario. 5
To address the Road Safety and Traffic Education, this concept paper proposes the following: 1. Include Road Safety and Traffic Education in the K-12 Education program of the government. As early as Kindergarten Road Safety Education or RSE should be taught to the students. This will create safety education among young children so that when they grow up they will always remember what they are taught. It should be taught from Kindergarten to Grade 10 to make sure that the students will always remember safety on the road. In grades 11-12, Traffic Education should be taught to the students, these are the age wherein they will be able to secure Driver s License and will be able to drive a motorized vehicle. With their background in Road Safety and additional traffic education, these new breed of drivers will have understanding on the driver s and pedestrians right on the road. Driving laws should be taught to the students as well from Grade 5-10 this is the age wherein students will be able to comprehend the law and in Grades 11-12 they may be able to have an NC1 in driving. 2. TESDA should create certification for drivers in the following category: a. Common Drivers - these are the drivers who will not provide services to the public in terms of driving a Public Utility Vehicle or will not use driving as a source of income. This will follow the existing driving lessons for regular drivers of any vehicles not intended for commercial purposes. b. Professional Truck Drivers - this certification will show skills in driving a truck, depending on what kind of truck, which will include the knowledge in the driving laws, pedestrian rights and obligation on the road, and driver s rights and obligation on the road. There will be a specialized category on this as well depending on what kind of truck will the person be driving. c. Professional Bus Drivers this certification will show skills in driving a bus which will include the knowledge in the driving laws, pedestrian rights and obligation on the road, and driver s rights and obligation on the road. 6
d. Professional Taxi Drivers - this certification will show skills in driving a taxi which will include the knowledge in the driving laws, pedestrian rights and obligation on the road, and driver s rights and obligation on the road. e. Professional Jeepney Drivers - this certification will show skills in driving a jeepney which will include the knowledge in the driving laws, pedestrian rights and obligation on the road, and driver s rights and obligation on the road. f. Professional Tri-cycle Drivers - this certification will show skills in driving a tri-cycle which will include the knowledge in the driving laws, pedestrian rights and obligation on the road, and driver s rights and obligation on the road. g. Motorcycle drivers - this certification will show skills in driving a motorcycle which will include the knowledge in the driving laws, pedestrian rights and obligation on the road, and drivers rights and obligation on the road TESDA can authorize schools and other training institutions to offer the abovementioned driver s category. This will ensure professionalized services of the driver in their particular certification. 3. LTO should also provide specialized drivers permit to those professional drivers mentioned above. This will ensure proper road safety and traffic education among the motorist. This will be on top of the regular driver s license they issue. Thus, this will eliminate Professional Driver s License from LTO. The specialized driver s permit will replace this. All professional drivers using EDSA will have these specialized driving permits. LTO can follow the same category they used but will incorporate training from TESDA. This means that before issuing a Driving permit, a person must have certification from TESDA first and depending on the TESDA certification LTO will provide the driver s permit. 7
IV. PROJECT DESCRIPTION A. Goals and Objectives The goal of this concept paper is to professionalize the driving services provided by the drivers a Public Utility Vehicle and to create an institutionalized driving schools or training center in the country. This will ensure that all those who will be using EDSA, drivers or pedestrians, are well aware of their rights and obligations. The objective of this concept paper is to: 1. Create a certification for the different classifications of drivers who will be driving motor vehicles 2. Teach the students on road safety and traffic education 3. Ensure that only certified drivers will be using EDSA to encourage proper behavior on the road 4. To properly identify motorist using motorized vehicles in EDSA 5. Professionalized the driving experience and services 6. Alleviate the traffic problem in EDSA through proper driver and pedestrian education B. Methodology Create a task force which will establish a curriculum for K-12 education, identify skills needed for TESDA to create a certification for professional drivers, and establish competency standards for professional driver s permit for LTO. The task force will compose of curriculum developers from DepEd, specialist from TESDA, and traffic educators from LTO. The task force will create the needed curriculum, competency standards, and design-content of professional driver s license for LTO. The task force will coordinate 8
with the researchers who will conduct Proof Of Concept in the first part of the three approaches in this total solution for alleviating the traffic situation in EDSA. DepED will identify areas in the curriculum where RSE can be integrated from Kindergarten to Grade 10. They will also identify which area in Grade 11-12 where Traffic Education can be integrated. DepEd will also identify in which area in the curriculum for Grade 5-10 where Driving laws can be integrated. DepEd will work with TESDA and LTO to develop the curriculum. TESDA will develop competency standards and training content and materials for each category of professional drivers. They will act as the regulating body for would be training centers for professional drivers and those common drivers. TESDA will work with LTO in developing the competency standards since this will also be the basis for issuing professional driver s license. LTO will work with TESDA to develop the criteria for each category of professional drivers permit and license. The two government agency will develop an actual driving test to measure competency of the applicant for driver s license and permits. LTO will create guideline on the issuance of drivers permit and license which requires each applicant to secure an NC1 from any TESDA accredited training centers before a driver s permit or licensed is issued. This will ensure that all drivers will have the necessary competency, skills, and values before driving the roads of EDSA or any roads in the country. The use of Quad-media will ensure that the public is also well aware of RSE, Traffic Education and Driving Laws by producing public information videos, leaflets, brochures, and materials. These will also make sure that visitors in the country are aware of the existing rules and regulations of LTO and EDSA Management Bureau (EMB). All of these videos and information will be displayed and shown along EDSA and the Smart Loading/Unloading bus stations along EDSA; this will also include the Bus Terminals. 9
D. Anticipated Outcomes It is anticipated that all drivers in the country will be well educated in terms of Road Safety Education, Traffic Education, and Driving Laws. It is also anticipated that all pedestrians will have an understanding of RSE and will know their rights and obligations in using the roads of EDSA and the rest of the country. Specifically this concept paper will help produce the following outcomes: 1. Reduce the number of road accidents in EDSA and the rest of the country 2. Institutionalized RSE, Traffic Education and information dissemination of Driving Laws 3. Create professional driver s permit and license 4. Speed up the acquisition and release of driver s license and permit of LTO 5. Support the other 2 approaches in the total solution of traffic problem in EDSA 6. Create certification and professionalization of drivers driving PUV and other vehicles used for personal or business endeavor 7. Create professional drivers using the road of EDSA and the rest of the country V. CONTACT INFORMATION Researcher: Dr. Benjamin G. Quito Rizal Technological University Boni Avenue, Mandaluyong City Tel. No. (02) 570-8055 Mobile: 09321082463 Email: benjaminquito@gmail.com 10
Researcher: Dr. Villamor S. Quebral Rizal Technological University Boni Avenue, Mandaluyong City Tel. No. (02) 570-8055 Mobile: 09162465182 Email: vsquebral@yahoo.com Researcher: Dr. Edna C. Aquino Rizal Technological University Boni Avenue, Mandaluyong City Tel. No. (02) 570-8055 Mobile: 09175293022 Email: ednacaquino@yahoo.com 11