Traffic Safety and Road Conditions

On the busy streets of the Philippines, motorists ideally depend on warning signs and guidance information: road obstructions like fixed objects, opposing traffic, intersecting traffic, speed differentials, pedestrians, and animals. The road system in the country is crowded and aggravated by undisciplined drivers.  Caution should be taken when driving the national highways and paved roads and avoid overcrowded and unsafe transportation and always exercise caution in planning to travel.  Some forms of public transportation like passenger jeepneys have regulations and face restrictions on pollution and routes. Not only do the hundreds of thousands of jeepneys all over the country increase the amount of traffic in the metropolitan areas, they also consume a lot of fuel. A great majority of jeepneys run on diesel. There have been proposals to remove jeepneys from the city streets in major cities and replace these with buses or trains.

The Regional Traffic Management Offices in the different regions can dispatch personnel to highways and other major routes to conduct traffic and ensure the steady movement of vehicles. Visible active operations in the cities and highways are the responsibility of major units and subordinate commanders in charge of particular areas, with the important role of preventing unlawful acts and ensure safe travel by the public. The patrolling, surveys of defective traffic lights and signs, road lights, safety devices and other road fixtures in municipalities and highly-urbanized areas are conducted by the traffic management agencies.

City Traffic Rules
Some of the traffic regulations involve violations related to licensing and registration, fraud and falsification, vehicle weight and load limits, devices and accessories, vehicle marking, parking, and driving.  The Traffic Management Group together with the country’s city officials and police units from different regions enforce the traffic.  Inconveniences, dangers, delays, congestion, and all forms of traffic violations are minimized through information gathering and analysis of facts related to the roads, weather conditions and the drivers’ behavior.

Traffic in the Philippines can be terrible.  When traveling in the city streets, especially in the busy highways, watch out for drivers who drive in and out of traffic without regards for traffic rules and general safety. If you get on a public transport with a daredevil driver, your best option is to get off and look for another ride.

Traffic Personnel
The Traffic Management Group (TMG) has been slowly earning a positive image for being a national operational support team that has revolutionized traffic management in the Philippines with its professional and highly-disciplined policemen. The Regional Traffic Management Offices in the different regions can dispatch personnel to highways and other major routes to conduct traffic and ensure the steady movement of vehicles. In Metro Manila alone, the TMG and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) support each other in taking charge of the responsibility of traffic management especially when infrastructure projects in the cities cause traffic congestion.

Traffic Signs and Speed Limits
Most streets in the Philippines have traffic signs and speed limits.  The TMG, aside from enforcing traffic rules in the highways and main thoroughfares, is intensifying its operations against car napping and hijacking, and providing assistance to prevent and investigate crimes committed in the streets. The TMG investigates traffic accidents, conducts traffic safety seminars and conferences, and traffic engineering studies in support of other mobile units which perform traffic direction and control.