17 killed in Philippine road crash

[Mike J]

What a tragedy.  Another accident where lack of vehicle maintenance was probably a major contributor. 

https://tribune.net.ph/2024/03/25/17-killed-in-phl-road-crash

At least 17 people were killed in the southern Philippines on Monday after a collision between a dump truck loaded with sand and a passenger van, local authorities said.

The incident happened in the afternoon on a major road in Antipas municipality in North Cotabato province on the second-largest island of Mindanao.

The 17 dead were the driver and passengers of the van, police Captain Godofredo Tupaz told AFP. Earlier, the death toll was 13.

Among the fatalities was a six-year-old child, who died in hospital, Tupaz said.

Another passenger is being treated for injuries.

The driver of the dump truck and his two passengers survived, Tupaz said, adding that the driver was in police custody.

Witnesses reported that the brakes of the truck appeared to fail before the collision happened, disaster official Mic Garfin told AFP.

Garfin said the van caught fire, possibly because of the impact of the crash.

Deadly road accidents are common in the Philippines, where drivers frequently flout the rules and vehicles are often poorly maintained or overloaded.

 

 

 

[RBM]

1 hour ago, Mike J said:

What a tragedy.  Another accident where lack of vehicle maintenance was probably a major contributor. 

https://tribune.net.ph/2024/03/25/17-killed-in-phl-road-crash

At least 17 people were killed in the southern Philippines on Monday after a collision between a dump truck loaded with sand and a passenger van, local authorities said.

The incident happened in the afternoon on a major road in Antipas municipality in North Cotabato province on the second-largest island of Mindanao.

The 17 dead were the driver and passengers of the van, police Captain Godofredo Tupaz told AFP. Earlier, the death toll was 13.

Among the fatalities was a six-year-old child, who died in hospital, Tupaz said.

Another passenger is being treated for injuries.

The driver of the dump truck and his two passengers survived, Tupaz said, adding that the driver was in police custody.

Witnesses reported that the brakes of the truck appeared to fail before the collision happened, disaster official Mic Garfin told AFP.

Garfin said the van caught fire, possibly because of the impact of the crash.

Deadly road accidents are common in the Philippines, where drivers frequently flout the rules and vehicles are often poorly maintained or overloaded.

 

 

 

never known any country that claims so many brake failures....Such a sad tragedy

[Jack Peterson]

 Can't speak for others But I check my car every 2/3 days, I don't use it a Lot. Start it up Run it for 30 mins and check Brakes, GearBox, Tyres Sort of like a preflight Check, never had a problem in the 7+ years I have had her but then, That's me 

[OnMyWay]

3 hours ago, Mike J said:

Deadly road accidents are common in the Philippines, where drivers frequently flout the rules and vehicles are often poorly maintained or overloaded.

There are a lot of sand trucks in the Angeles / Poroc area because there is a huge industry of harvesting Pinatubo lahar sand from the huge riverbed there.  Some of them have many, many rows of tires to support the weight.  Many times it appears to be wet sand, and the weight must be tremendous.  If I was driving one of those, I would be checking tires and brakes frequently, but that is not how things work here.

[jimeve]

29 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

There are a lot of sand trucks in the Angeles / Poroc area because there is a huge industry of harvesting Pinatubo lahar sand from the huge riverbed there.  Some of them have many, many rows of tires to support the weight.  Many times it appears to be wet sand, and the weight must be tremendous.  If I was driving one of those, I would be checking tires and brakes frequently, but that is not how things work here.

Saw a truck moving sugar cane going through a main tourist area in Dumaguete puking black-blue smoke everywhere and it had a bamboo door on the drivers side.

I kid you not, I nearly choked on my beer.

[Mike J]

8 minutes ago, jimeve said:

Saw a truck moving sugar cane going through a main tourist area in Dumaguete puking black-blue smoke everywhere and it had a bamboo door on the drivers side.

I kid you not, I nearly choked on my beer.

A few years back I went to smoke test my scooter for new tags.  There was a truck being tested without the motor running.  Several guys had to push start it following the successful, motor not running, smoke test.  The amount of smoke that followed him down the road was about the worst I have seen.   One of the local Filipinos looked at me and said; "only in Da Philippines". 😂😂😂

[Possum]

5 hours ago, Mike J said:

Deadly road accidents are common in the Philippines, where drivers frequently flout the rules and vehicles are often poorly maintained or overloaded.

I questioned the enforcement of overloaded truck as there seems to be two types, overloaded and empty. I was told that on the rare occasion they check the weight the fine for overloaded is only about 2000. The driver is given this money by the owner to carry in case they are caught. Pay the fine and keep moving. There is a coco oil depot near where I live. Just walking by the trucks parked there you can see that over 50% have bald tires, many with cord showing. The PNP drives by there several times a day but never check the trucks. They are reactive, they investigate accidents after they happen but do zero to prevent. Ruffles too many owners feathers if they start fining unsafe trucks it seems. I avoid all trucks as much as possible as I assume they are all unsafe.

[craftbeerlover]

5 hours ago, Jack Peterson said:

But I check my car every 2/3 days,

WOW

[Gator]

7 hours ago, RBM said:

never known any country that claims so many brake failures....Such a sad tragedy

 Complete lack of enforcement as well as periodic maintenance programs. Drive it until it breaks seems to be norm here; and not just for semi trucks. 

2 hours ago, Possum said:

I questioned the enforcement of overloaded truck as there seems to be two types, overloaded and empty. I was told that on the rare occasion they check the weight the fine for overloaded is only about 2000. The driver is given this money by the owner to carry in case they are caught. Pay the fine and keep moving. There is a coco oil depot near where I live. Just walking by the trucks parked there you can see that over 50% have bald tires, many with cord showing. The PNP drives by there several times a day but never check the trucks. They are reactive, they investigate accidents after they happen but do zero to prevent. Ruffles too many owners feathers if they start fining unsafe trucks it seems. I avoid all trucks as much as possible as I assume they are all unsafe.

You’ve hit the nail on the head. Last year the wife and I went an inter-island road trip - Luzon, Samar, Leyte, Cebu, Negros, Panay, Negros, Cebu and then back to Luzon. In the several thousand km we covered I only recall seeing 2 manned DOT inspection sites and they only seemed to be checking weight (portable scales set up).

We happened to take a break across from one and in the 30-45 minutes we were there not one truck was inspected. Even from across the road I was easily able spot numerous violations - bald tires, recapped steer tires, missing lights, missing / broken mud flaps, missing conspicuity tape, etc. Before retiring I had nearly 25 years in the trucking industry in the USA and prior to that was a traffic homicide investigator, I was both ACTAR (accredited Traffic Accident Reconstructionist) and DOT certified. The only thing I did notice were “fines” being paid in cash, presumably for being overweight, and one actual citation issued. 

As you pointed out, they are reactive instead of proactive when it comes to enforcement. It’s a pity that profit margins (and bribes) have a higher value here than human life. 

[scott h]

13 hours ago, Gator said:

Drive it until it breaks seems to be norm here

This is still a "bubblegum and bailing wire" (as us Yanks would call it) culture. They are extremely proud of Pinoy ingenuity and inventiveness, take the iconic national treasure the Jeepney that came out of WW2. But instead of moving on like the rest of the world they just keep hanging on to the past. If a jeepney radiator gets a leak, do they fix it? NO! they run a hose from the radiator to the drivers compartment and the driver just keeps adding water to it as he drives down the road. It works, I give them that, but is it safe? Efficient? cost effective? I believe that one of the reasons they are fighting the Jeepney modernization plan so hard. They get these new vehicles they will have to maintain them according to factory specs using specific parts or they just wont work period.