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Senate backs UN road safety drive

THE Upper House expressed support to the United Nations (UN) Decade of Action for Road Safety, the worldwide and decade-long campaign to curb the 1.3 million deaths from road accidents every year.

The Senate affirmed its support to the UN drive through Senate Resolution 415 which was filed by Senator Bong Revilla Jr. and approved before the six-week adjournment of the session.

According to the lawmaker, the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety, which runs from this year to 2021, is an opportunity for countries to work together in addressing road traffic deaths and injuries around the world.

He cited the UN report revealing that 1.3 million people die on the world’s roads every year, with around 50 million injured or disabled by accidents.   This costs countries up to 4 percent of their gross national product (GNP) yearly.

“The over-all objective of this global campaign is to halt the alarming rise of road accidents.  As member state of the United Nations and a country with a huge record of road accidents, it is only proper that the Philippines be actively involved in this undertaking,” said  Revilla, staunch  advocate of travel safety and main author of the Helmet Law, the legislative measure that obliged all motorcycle users, including the backriders, to wear standard quality helmets.

By : Marlon Purificacion

English - USA