Make our roads safe

SUNDAY afternoon, Dec. 11, 2016 at around 5 pm, our son Enrico, was hit by a motorcycle. He sustained two fractures near the base of his skull and a traumatic brain injury (TBI).  Were it not for the quick response of the security personnel manning the Vista Verde gate and their supervisor, I do not want to think how or where my son would be now. One guard immediately came to our house to inform us of the accident and our other son Paolo immediately rushed to the scene. While ambulance was already summoned, Paolo did not want to wait and with the assistance of the security supervisor, drove Enrico to the nearest medical facility, Madonna and Child Hospital.  It was providential also that Dr. Donald Co responded in no time. After the second CT scan, Dr. Co recommended surgery to relieve the intracranial pressure that was building up due to the swelling from the TBI. Since I could not think straight anymore, I asked Dr. Co to appraise our other son Niko, a surgeon working in Manila and so the decision was made to proceed with the operation.  Craniectomy is a surgical procedure where part of the skull will be removed to allow space for the swelling brain.

I do not exactly know how the accident happened. All I know is that my son fell after he was hit by a motorcycle, and which resulted in the head/brain injury which until now he is undergoing treatment and rehabilitation. We do not know when this ordeal will end and when he will be completely healed.

The number of accidents involving motorcycles is mounting not just in Cagayan de Oro but throughout the Philippines.  Something must be done to prevent more lives from being lost or wasted. I would like to start with my city, Cagayan de Oro. But I am not sure who or which authority I can bring this up to. I thought I would seek the help of press to create awareness and advance my cause: How to keep pedestrians, walking along or crossing Masterson Avenue, safe from accidents, for starters.

I live uptown, and every day I live in fear of irresponsible drivers: driving like they are on race tracks; overtaking at very narrow clearance; beating each other at intersections and convergences; and violating traffic rules with impunity.  Statistics can support my saying that there is at least one accident a week at Masterson Avenue involving motorists.

It is not enough that law enforcers apprehend perpetrators and file cases against them.  It is important that they make regular reports that will include actionable information and not just statistics. If the right reports with correlation are done weekly or at least monthly, traffic management can go beyond solving congestions to preventing accidents and saving lives and limbs.

The following are some suggestions:

1. Imposition of speed limit
2. Assignment of traffic officers at pedestrian crossings
3. Assignment of Highway Patrol, 24 hours
4. Installation of CCTV cameras at strategic locations
5. Installation of traffic lights
6. Improvement of the highway lightings
7. Installation of additional overpasses

I should have written this appeal earlier but I was not sensitive enough. And that is my biggest regret.

We spent Christmas with Enrico at the ICU and to this day, he is still in there, recovering slowly with the care and compassion of his team of doctors, nurses and PTs. By the prayers of family, relatives, friends, and community, and above all by the grace of God, we can see that he is on the road to recovery.

It is not impossible for Masterson’s Avenue to become a safe road. Safety will come from rules and deterrents on one hand and from courteous drivers on the other. Someone in authority will make this possible not just for Masterson’s Avenue but for the whole of Cagayan de Oro. –Ann Pozon, Cagayan de Oro