MANILA, Philippines – The viral road safety discussions on social media highlight the need for road safety.
On June 7, Rappler headed to Tuguegarao City in Cagayan to host the 2nd #SaferRoadsPH forum. From 1 pm to 5 pm, people gathered at the University of St Louis to discuss the reality of Cagayan Valley being the region with the highest road crash density rate in the Philippines.
The conversation, however, didn't remain on the ground. Online, people joined the dialogue to share their thoughts. By 3 pm, #SaferRoadsPH was a trending topic on Twitter.
Participants at the event and those who tuned in through the livestream were quick to tweet the most striking parts of the forum. From quotes to reactions, here are some of the tweets that made the hashtag trend.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Motorcycle riders and pedestrians are the most vulnerable to road crashes. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaferRoadsPH?src=hash">#SaferRoadsPH</a></p>— Kurt Adrian (@BigBossKurt02) <a href="https://twitter.com/BigBossKurt02/status/872356110946230272">June 7, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Isn't it too easy for student drivers to acquire Student licenses?<br>-Sheena Cuntapay, SSC Council<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaferRoadsPH?src=hash">#SaferRoadsPH</a></p>— Ice Bearoccoli (@peexelles) <a href="https://twitter.com/peexelles/status/872360133694717953">June 7, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="tl" dir="ltr">omg? highest ang Region 3? <a href="https://twitter.com/urielight">@urielight</a> factor din siguro ang NLEX<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaferRoadsPH?src=hash">#SaferRoadsPH</a> <a href="https://t.co/R68yy1PhOI">https://t.co/R68yy1PhOI</a></p>— Rose Ann Maputol (@sanmaputol) <a href="https://twitter.com/sanmaputol/status/872355197091291136">June 7, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Forum participants tweeted their realizations from listening to the speakers.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Top cause of traffic crashes: Human Error <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaferRoadsPH?src=hash">#SaferRoadsPH</a></p>— 1374132911 (@aymdehed) <a href="https://twitter.com/aymdehed/status/872342861064392704">June 7, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"I should be a responsible driver" keep that in mind. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaferRoadsPH?src=hash">#SaferRoadsPH</a></p>— 1374132911 (@aymdehed) <a href="https://twitter.com/aymdehed/status/872355430105849862">June 7, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="tl" dir="ltr">Respect, courtesy, discipline and responsibility ay kailangan para iwasan ang road crashes. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaferRoadsPH?src=hash">#SaferRoadsPH</a></p>— Kurt Adrian (@BigBossKurt02) <a href="https://twitter.com/BigBossKurt02/status/872355190640451584">June 7, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Some also took to Twitter to point out possible weak points of local roads.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="tl" dir="ltr">I think isa sa problema sa Tuguegarao ay ang wala ni isang traffic light sa mga main roads. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaferRoadsPH?src=hash">#SaferRoadsPH</a></p>— Erma Joy J. Diciano (@ohermahgerd8) <a href="https://twitter.com/ohermahgerd8/status/872350292691611648">June 7, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Build bike lanes and encourage others to bike, just like in Iloilo City. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaferRoadsPH?src=hash">#SaferRoadsPH</a></p>— Felee E. Morit (@jhayjhay_22) <a href="https://twitter.com/jhayjhay_22/status/872352753498107906">June 7, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Roads really are narrow here in Tuguegarao <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaferRoadsPH?src=hash">#SaferRoadsPH</a></p>— Julius Catulin (@JulioCatulin) <a href="https://twitter.com/JulioCatulin/status/872353582489751553">June 7, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Overall, people found the forum helpful and praised the speakers for their wisdom.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hope that <a href="https://twitter.com/rapplerdotcom">@rapplerdotcom</a> will conduct a Road Safety forum in different parts of the country, not just in Cagayan. Good job! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaferRoadsPH?src=hash">#SaferRoadsPH</a> <a href="https://t.co/y1eHvFKOGe">https://t.co/y1eHvFKOGe</a></p>— Hannah Mallorca (@gabmallorca_) <a href="https://twitter.com/gabmallorca_/status/872351921218170880">June 7, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaferRoadsPH?src=hash">#SaferRoadsPH</a> Amazing Speakers for the forum.</p>— NESTHOWR^^ (@THORxxTHOR) <a href="https://twitter.com/THORxxTHOR/status/872341663984869377">June 7, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Crash-related deaths on the rise
The number of vehicular crash-related deaths has been on the rise in the Philippines since 2006, when the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) recorded 6,869 deaths due to road crashes. Eight years later, in 2014, that number jumped to 8,666.
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In the country, Cagayan Valley is the region with the highest number of vehicular crash-related deaths as compared to their population.
Zooming in shows that Tuguegarao City is the most vulnerable in terms of vehicular crashes that occur in the province of Cagayan.
These numbers are the reason why Rappler and its partner organizations chose to host the 2nd #SaferRoadsPH forum in Tuguegarao City.
With over 90 forum participants and around 2 million Twitter accounts reached (according to TweetReach), Rappler hopes that road safety will be prioritized by road users across the country.
What is the road safety situation in your area? Share your thoughts on X! – Rappler.com