MANILA, Philippines — Senator Ralph Recto shot down the claims of Private Motor Vehicle Inspection Centers (PMVICs) that poorly maintained vehicles are the sole cause of road accidents in the country.
Recto said that there are many more factors in road accidents, most of which are outside the realms of car maintenance, that PMVICs failed to point out.
“Yes, accidents are caused by clunkers on the road, but to spin that they are solely to blame is again an overreach,” said Recto in a statement.
“Maraming aksidente na ang dahilan, madilim at walang ilaw na kalsada, nakakalitong traffic signs, pangit na daan, road barriers na mali ang pagkalagay, at walang ligtas na pedestrian lane o overpass.”
(There are a lot of road accidents that the reasons are either dark or dimly-lit roads, confusing traffic signs, mismanaged roads, barriers that have been wrongly placed, or the absence of a safe pedestrian lane and overpass.)
PMVICs, as Recto said, solely put the blame on car maintenance whenever road accidents happen and the Senate Pro Tempore claimed that this statement is “wrong and misleading.”
The PMVICs were created as part of the government’s desire to make sure motor vehicles are in peak condition before taking the roads.
Unlike Private Emission Testing Centers, which focuses on the smoke quality exhausted from vehicles, the PMVICs will adapt a 60-plus checklist when inspecting automobiles or motorcycles.
This method, Recto said, discounts the outside factors that drivers face on the road and that PMVICs are not “magic pills” that would eradicate road accidents completely.
“A well-tuned car driven by someone with a high IQ who aced the driver’s test can still meet an accident if he sleeps on the wheel, or intentionally disregards a traffic light or sign,” said Recto.
“I agree that a robust, fair, affordable and accessible Motor Vehicle Inspection System with a public option can prevent road mishaps, which the current set-up comes short in guaranteeing. So let’s work out a system in which public safety wins. But please don’t pitch us the justification that the PMVIC is the cure-all to accidents.”