The average number of road accidents in Metro Manila is 73 a day, and most of the time they happen between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and are caused mainly by human error.
Based on the 2018 Metro Manila Accident Recording and Analysis System or MMRAS report, there were 116,906 vehicular accidents in the area last year and most of them happened in Quezon City, where 38,967 road crashes were recorded.
The MMRAS is a program created by the Metro Manila Development Authority and is aimed at improving road management in the metropolis.
The program says the number of deaths caused by road accidents went down in 2018 when it recorded 394 deaths compared with 434 in 2017.
The City of Manila followed Quezon City with the highest number of road accidents in 2018 with 11,448, and Makati City was next with 11,382.
The Municipality of Pateros had the lowest number of reported road crashes followed by Navotas and Malabon, and mainly because they have lesser arterial roads and do not have a central business district like the other cities in Metro Manila.
The program also recorded 98,632 cases of damage to property caused by road crashes last year.
The MMRAS says motorcycle accidents remain one of the three leading causes of death and injury on the roads in the metropolis with a total of 224 the deaths, followed by trucks (100) and private cars (95).
Motorcycles also topped the list of vehicles with the most number of injuries, posting 13,594 followed by cars (8,121), vans (1,797) and public utility jeepneys (1,717).
The MMRAS also showed road crash statistics on what it described as the “three key roads” in Metro Manila: Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, Circumferential Road or C-5 and Commonwealth Avenue.
The program recorded 17, 276 accidents along EDSA where 21 people died and 1,169 others were injured. The month of July had the highest number of road crashes with 1,666.
Along C-5 Road, the program recorded a total of 8,252 vehicular accidents last year that killed 27 people and injured 980 others. Most of those accidents happened in October.
A total of 5,148 vehicular accidents killed 10 people and injured 748 others on Commonwealth Avenue last year, and most of those happened in August with 469 cases.
The program also showed that the most dangerous times to be on the roads of Metro Manila are from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. and from 7 pm. to 9 p.m.
In 2016, the MMDA identified more than 50 main thoroughfares as accident-prone areas in the National Capital Region.
It said the road accidents occur mostly in Manila along President Sergio Osmeña Highway, Radial Road 10 (R-10) and Roxas Boulevard, and on Commonwealth Avenue, Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, Quirino Highway, Quezon Avenue and Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City.
Most of the road accidents happen because of undisciplined motorists who drive while drunk or use mobile phones while behind the wheel.