How Ford Philippines is helping stop 10,000 road-crash deaths a year

It was like any other work day for 63-year-old Doreen Bacus on the morning of Sept. 24, 2022.

As traffic thinned out on the corner of Elizalde Avenue and Aguirre Avenue in Barangay BF Homes in Paranaque City, the elderly street sweeper quickly headed into the street to broom up some clutter. Job done, she turns around to move to the next bit of trash on the street. 

A nearby CCTV camera sees what she can't: a white Mitsubishi Pajero barreling towards her. 

Without even braking or taking any avoiding action, the two-ton sport-utility vehicle (SUV) hits her from behind and flings her into the canal like a ragdoll. The Pajero then runs her over, its huge tires crushing her, before scurrying off down another street.

Her colleagues and other bystanders rush to her as she lay crumpled on the road that clear Saturday morning. She is brought to the hospital in critical condition. 

Was it a case of road rage? Or perhaps the driver had a long-standing grudge against Bacus and used the SUV as a murder weapon?

"The guy was distracted," said Ford Driving Skills for Life (DSFL) chief instructor J.P. Tuason as he stops the video. "He didn't see her because he was using his cellphone."

The video, which went viral online, led to the arrest of 42-year-old Raymond Zaparain, a resident of nearby Las Pinas City. Police filed a complaint against him for reckless imprudence resulting in serious physical injuries on Sept. 27, 2022.

'Number-one cause' of road crashes

The Paranaque City hit-and-run incident is the latest example of what Tuason called the top cause of road crashes in the Philippines: driver error.

"We cannot multitask while we're behind the wheel," the veteran racing driver told us motoring media at the DSFL workshop in Alabang last Sept. 29, 2022.

"And smartphones are very hard to use while driving," he added. "They are not designed for that."

The 2018 World Health Organization Global Status Report on Road Safety calls distracted driving a "growing risk factor" in road crashes. It also points out some very disturbing figures:

• Telephone use, even with hands-free devices, makes you four times more likely to get into a crash.

• Texting makes you 23 times more likely to crash.

• Drivers on the phone have reaction times that are 50-percent slower than those who are not. 

Even before the release of the WHO report, the Philippines had already passed a law to address distracted driving. Republic Act 10913 or the Anti-Distracted Driving Act was signed into law on July 2016 by then-President Benigno Aquino III.

The measure expressly prohibits the use of a mobile communication device without a hands-free system. While Bacus survived the road crash she was involved in, thousands of Filipinos every year do not.

The WHO noted that, based on data from the Philippine government, 10,012 people were killed on our roads in 2015. 

And the latest data from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority isn't much more encouraging – in Metro Manila alone, there were 385 people killed and 15,250 injured in road crashes in 2021.

It is figures like these that have kept Ford Philippines and its partner, Tuason Racing School, going with the Driving Skills for Life program over the last 14 years.

Rethinking the way we drive

It was my first time ever attending a DSFL workshop, even though I've been a motoring journalist since 2015.

What's more, I never went to a driving school. I learned everything from my parents, who rode shotgun with me in our old Isuzu Hi-Lander as soon as I turned 12 years old.

Aside from discussions on road safety laws, the workshop looked at the importance of proper car maintenance, fuel-efficient driving and keeping your car sanitized amid the COVID-19 pandemic. They even provided handy checklists that you can download.

After the lecture, we were all ferried to the practical driving course down the street. First up, a fuel-efficiency run in the Ford Territory, which AutoFun Philippines content head Mikko David recently reviewed.

By following the speed limit very carefully and keeping my driving smooth, I was able to get an impressive 14.2 km/L, based on the Territory's trip computer.

Up next, the parallel parking course using the next-generation Ford Ranger. Parking a pick-up in a tight space is always an absolute chore because of the sheer size of the thing, but the Ranger's 360-degree-view camera meant I could see all my blindspots and avoid every obstacle.

Letting it all go

The last two exercises were the ones that got my attention.

The first was a braking test using the next-generation Ford Everest. Floor the throttle from the starting point and slam the brakes at the braking area until you make a full stop.

High-speed braking is one of the first things that I learned in racing school, having graduated from the Automobile Association of the Philippines Motorsport Development Program in 2018.

The Everest may be a big and heavy SUV, but its anti-lock-braking system kept it straight and true as we came in hot from 60 km/h. And we had plenty of space left before the pylon at the end of the braking zone. 

It's a testament to how modern automotive safety technology can really save lives, especially in emergencies. 

The last section was the slalom course using another Ford Territory. Again, years of racing and winning autocross and gymkhana competitions meant this would be easy as cake.

But it was the instruction for my second run through the course that really stupefied me.

"Take out your phone," the instructor said. "Open your notepad and text ‘Don't text and drive' while negotiating the chicane."

J.P. Tuason's words about smartphones earlier in the day echoed in my mind as I fumbled with my phone to write. My speed was down to 15 km/h, but I had to completely let go of the steering wheel at times, with my eyes fixated on the screen.

I successfully wrote my text, but if I were driving around in a built-up area like a parking lot, I would likely have hit something or someone.

Reaching thousands online and offline

My first DSFL workshop was eye-opening, even with my years of experience in motorsports.

In fact, it carries over much of the mindset, focus and discipline that we are trained to have as racing drivers – we must make sure to think of our driving and absolutely nothing else.

I wonder how different the outcome might have been for Doreen Bacus that Saturday morning in Paranaque City if the suspect attended a DSFL workshop. Perhaps she could have gone home to her family at the end of a long day, instead of laying in the street as death came for her.

Tuason said Ford Philippines plans to reach 3,000 people with DSFL by the end of 2022, both through face-to-face and online sessions. He added that they are willing to conduct free workshops for large groups, ranging from drivers to traffic enforcers.

It's training that is truly priceless, especially when the cost could be someone's life.