The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has compiled a report on

motoring accidents in 2015 and it looks grim compared to numbers from the previous
year.

A recorded 95,615 traffic accidents occurred in 2015 5,357 and it resulted in the death
of 519 persons, injury to 17,103 people and a total of 77,993 cases of damage to
property.

Motorcycles tops the list of modes of transportation with the most number of deaths
or injuries from road accidents with 262 cases and even the non-fatal road incidents
with 11,620.

Trucks with 129 and private vehicles with 125 complete the top three vehicle types
that caused death in road accidents last year while in non-fatal road accidents, private
vehicles climbed up to the second spot with 7,427 cases and public utility jeepneys
(PUJs) came in third with 2,161.

When it comes to property damage, private cars have caused the most with 83,077
cases followed by trucks with 15,737 and vans at 14,413.

A whopping 95,570 cases of the accidents were caused by human error while 29 were
due to vehicle defect and 15 cases can be attributed to poor road conditions.
37.66-percent of these accidents occurred at night while 62.33-percent happened
during daytime and the most dangerous month of the year to be on the road is
December.
The 50 most accident-prone areas were also identified and these are as follows:
In the north:

Quirino Highway and Rizal Avenue in Caloocan City

Circumferential Road 4

Gov. Pascual Avenue

M.H. Del Pilar Street

McArthur Highway in Malabon City

Honorio Lopez Boulevard

 Radial Road 10

Naval Street in Navotas

Maysan Road

McArthur Highway in Valenzuela

In the south:

Sergio Osmena Highway

Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue in Makati City

Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue Extension

Alabang-Zapote Road

Real Street and Marcos Alvarez Avenue in Las Pinas City

West Service Road

National Highway in Muntinlupa City

Alabang-Zapote Road; West Service Road,

Roxas Boulevard

Ninoy Aquino Avenue

Dr. A Santos Avenue in Paranaque City

Epifanio de los Santos Avenue

Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City

Carlos P. Garcia Avenue

Circumferential Road 5

M.L. Quezon Street

East Service Road

Almeda Street and Herrera Street in Pateros.

 Quezon Avenue

Katipunan Avenue

In the east:

Marcos and Sumulong Highways in Marikina City

Shaw Boulevard

Ortigas Avenue

E. Rodriguez Jr. Avenue

Julia Vargas Street

Ortigas Avenue

Santolan Road

P. Guevarra Street

N. Domingo Street

Commonwealth Avenue

In Manila:

President Sergio Osmena Highway

Quirino Highway

Accidents in Quezon City recorded the most number of deaths with 146 followed by
Manila with 83, Caloocan (43), Taguig (39), Valenzuela (33), Marikina and Paranaque
(26), Las Pinas (24), Pasig (23), Muntinlupa (21), Makati (19), Navotas (12), Pasay
(10), Mandaluyong (7), Malabon (5), and San Juan (2).
These numbers come from the MMDAs Metro Manila Accident Recording and
Analysis System (MMRAS), which was devised by the Road Safety Unit (RSU) of
the MMDA-Traffic Discipline Office-Traffic Engineering Center (MMDA-TDO-
TEC), with the cooperation and assistance of the Traffic Enforcement Unit (TEU) of
the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Road safety is a very old problem inhe Philippines, there were over 1,000 deaths a
year evenbefore the advent of the motor car. In its Global Status Report on
Road Safety 2015, the WHO said 53% of reported road traffic
fatalities in the Philippines are riders of motorized two- or three-
wheeler vehicles.
While based on 2013 data from the Philippines' Department of
Public Works and Highway-Traffic Accident Recording and Analysis
System, 1,513 people have died due to road accidents.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3253774/
Road traffic accident is a major but neglected public health challenge. The World report on road
traffic accident prevention has indicated that worldwide, an estimated 1.2 million people die in
road traffic accident each year and as many as 50 million are being injured According to WHO
report, 90% of the world's fatalities on the roads occur in low-income and middle-income
countries, which have only 48% of the world's registered vehicles such as the Philippines.
The severity of road traffic crashes is also likely in the Philippines because many vulnerable road
users are involved, poor transport conditions such as lack of seat belts, overcrowding, and
hazardous vehicle environments.
Also, evidences noted that human behavior is the most common factor accounting for more than
85% of all traffic accidents [2]. Among the risky human behaviors prevailing in the country is
driving over the recommended speed. Studies has indicated that an increase of 1 km/h in mean
traffic speed results in a 3% increase in the incidence of accident crashes and a 4-5% increase in
fatal crashes.
To avoid road traffic accidents, the Congress of the Philippines have passed Republic Act 4136
specifically Chapter 4 Article 1 Section 35 which states that Any person driving a motor
vehicle on a highway shall drive the same at a careful and prudent speed, not greater
nor less than is reasonable and proper, having due regard for the traffic, the width of the
highway, and of any other condition then and there existing; and no person shall drive
any motor vehicle upon a highway at such a speed as to endanger the life, limb and
property of any person, nor at a speed greater than will permit him to bring the vehicle to
a stop within the assured clear distance ahead.
Thelawrequiresdriverstooperatetheirvehiclesataspeedthatisreasonableandprudentunder
existingconditions.Itrecognizesthatthemaximumsafespeedvariesduetotraffic,roadway,
weather,lightandotherconditions,andplacestheresponsibilityofselectingasafeand
reasonablespeedonthedriver.
The main purpose of implementing speed limits is for the interest of public safety
and order. There is an imperative need for the government to immediately address
serious concern about speed limit violation through a renewed vigor of regulation as well
as the adoption of local measures responsive to the current situation with a view of
reasonably and effectively obviating traffic accidents resulting from over speeding and
reckless driving.

As above mentioned the most common factor which cause traffic accidents is violation of speed
limit. (Better term) the plaintiff may file charges with the RTC,. One of the defenses that may be
raised by the plaintiff is the doctrine of Last Clear Chance.

The doctrine of last clear chance simply means that the negligence of a claimant does not
preclude a recovery for the negligence of defendant where it appears that the latter, by
exercising reasonable care and prudence, might have avoided injurious consequences to
claimant notwithstanding his negligence. Or, "As the doctrine usually is stated, a person who
has the last clear chance or opportunity of avoiding an accident, notwithstanding the
negligent acts of his opponent or the negligence of a third person which is imputed to his
opponent, is considered in law solely responsible for the consequences of the accident." (38
Am. Jur. pp. 900-902)

However, the application of the doctrine is plagued with criticisms. The problem in the
application of this doctrine was presented in the case of Phoenix Construction vs. Intermediate
Appellate Court. Here, the court found it particularly difficult to apply the Doctrine of Last Clear
Chance because unlike common law, the Philippine rule on contributory negligence is governed
by Article 2179 of the Civil Code which states that:

When the plaintiffs own negligence was the immediate and proximate cause of
his injury, he cannot recover damages. But if his negligence was only
contributory, the immediate and proximate cause of the injury being the
defendants lack of due care, the plaintiff may recover damages, but the courts
shall mitigate the damages to be awarded.

By virtue of such rule, it becomes apparent that the last clear chance doctrine which imputes the
consequences of an impending harm to one party is incompatible with the doctrine laid therein
which allows recovery by the plaintiff subject to mitigation by the courts in lieu of his
contributory negligence.

Nevertheless, the court still found room for the application of the doctrine in later case of
Lapanday Agricultural v. Angala.

In this regard, there is a need toshed light on the extent of applicability or

inapplicability of the Last Clear Chance Doctrine in the Philippines by determining
whether its incorporation in Philippine jurisprudence is relatively a matter of right or a
violation of the rule stated in Article 2179 of the Civil Code.
In the Philippines the World Health Organization have recorded 95,615 road traffic
accidents occurred in 2015 and it resulted in the death of 519 persons, injury to
17,103 people and a total of 77,993 cases of damage to property.