Making roads safe

EDITORIAL

The Bontoc-Ifugao Road has claimed another death last week with several wounded when an ambulance fell down a ravine. To date, police are still investigating the crash. (See banner story in page 1 for more details.)  

The crash is just one among the many happening on a daily basis in the country. Following spate of road crashes, Senate panels are pushing for creation of a transportation safety board.

If created by law, the proposed National Transportation Safety Board would be the primary agency focusing on transport-related investigations.

The Senate committees on public services, civil service and government reorganization, and finance are pushing for a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to investigate crash incidents and compliance with safety standards.

The Senate panels filed recently committee report no. 8 with Senate bill no. 1077, recommending the creation of the NTSB and prescribing its powers and functions.

SB No. 1077 consolidated Senator Grace Poe's SB No. 125 and Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr's SB No. 651. The substitute bill was co-authored by Poe, Revilla, and Senator Juan Edgardo Angara.

This, considering road crashes need to be thoroughly investigated to give justice to victims or make recommendations to lessen incidents.