20 Dead as truck drives off cliff

[Arizona Kid]

9 hours ago, Mike J said:

So many beautiful children lost.  I cannot imagine the depth of grief their parents are feeling.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/least-15-dead-truck-falls-070819083.html

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Twenty villagers were killed and 14 others were injured when the truck they were riding in lost control and fell off a cliff Tuesday in a remote mountain village in the southern Philippines, police and the Red Cross said.

Provincial police chief Joel Limson said the truck was negotiating a downhill road in Tboli town in South Cotabato province when its brakes apparently failed and plummeted down a ravine, pinning 15 people to death. Five other victims later died in hospitals, Limson said.

Police, Red Cross volunteers and villagers retrieved the 15 bodies from the wreckage at the bottom of the ravine. Some of the dead included children returning from a family reunion at a beach resort, Limson said by phone.

Red Cross leader Erwin Rommel del Carmen said several passengers survived by jumping off the wayward bus.

"Majority of the survivors jumped out of the bus as it ran out of control. They were scattered on the mountainside," del Carmen, who was among those who retrieved the dead, said by phone.

Video posted by witnesses online showed the upland road where the accident happened has no steel or concrete railing. Below, the mangled wreckage of the truck is seen lying on its side.

Deadly road accidents are common in the Philippines because of weak enforcement of traffic laws, rickety vehicles and inadequate road safety railings and signs, especially in the countryside.

The driver couldn't run away this time because he was injured also.

[DavidK]

Anybody who rides a motorbike here without wearing a good helmet, whether driver, pillion or fare-paying passenger is playing chicken with their life. Sadly there's plenty prepared to do it (and have their children do it too - and the dog occasionally).

[GeoffH]

1 hour ago, DavidK said:

Anybody who rides a motorbike here without wearing a good helmet

I've found it surprisingly hard to buy 'good' helmets here in Cagayan De Oro (in Ozamiz I'm lucky to find one that fits).

The best of the ones I've seen for sale here are the bottom of the market brands in shops in Australia.

I guess that is because of disposable income levels.  Someone who buys an 80,000 peso motorbike isn't going to spend 30,000 on a helmet.  But in the shops I've visited none are over 5000 peso.

The best ones (for my head) I've found so far are the plastic shell AGV helmets (no fibreglass shell ones here that I've seen).

Edited September 18, 2019 by GeoffH

[Mike J]

11 hours ago, GeoffH said:

I've found it surprisingly hard to buy 'good' helmets here in Cagayan De Oro (in Ozamiz I'm lucky to find one that fits).

The best of the ones I've seen for sale here are the bottom of the market brands in shops in Australia.

I guess that is because of disposable income levels.  Someone who buys an 80,000 peso motorbike isn't going to spend 30,000 on a helmet.  But in the shops I've visited none are over 5000 peso.

The best ones (for my head) I've found so far are the plastic shell AGV helmets (no fibreglass shell ones here that I've seen).

And how many do you see being held together with duct tape?  Maybe they because it saved their life once, it becomes a lucky helmet?  

[sonjack2847]

A similar thing happened in Dalaguete a few years back the Mayors response was how can I stop the people from doing it when they want to come down into town for a funeral. The Mayor there now is very strict about laws and it shows.

[virginprune]

This accident was very close to where I am. According to local radio they were all working in the local scrap yard. They were on their way back to Surallah from a beach day in Gensan. Instead of using the highway the driver decided to go the mountain route via T'boli, with disastrous consequences. This is a very sad time for all concerned, relatives and friends. RIP

It always concerns me when I see trucks full of people, usually sitting on unsecured plastic chairs, seemingly unaware of the dangers.

Regarding motorcycle helmets the usual run of the mill cheap ones, P2500 and below are fairly poor standard. There is a shop in Gensan that sells good quality Italian helmets starting around P4500.

[Tukaram (Tim)]

Anytime  I hear "brake failure" I assume they were going to fast, trying to overtake someone, and in oncoming traffic.  The buses and vans I have been on all do this - and all wrecks are "brake failure"... 

[Gary D]

51 minutes ago, Tukaram (Tim) said:

Anytime  I hear "brake failure" I assume they were going to fast, trying to overtake someone, and in oncoming traffic.  The buses and vans I have been on all do this - and all wrecks are "brake failure"... 

Except when caused by a white lady.

[Arizona Kid]

The newspapers like to say that vehicles "fall" off a road or cliff. Maybe they can't think of better words to report the story. 

[Arizona Kid]

8 hours ago, sonjack2847 said:

A similar thing happened in Dalaguete a few years back the Mayors response was how can I stop the people from doing it when they want to come down into town for a funeral. The Mayor there now is very strict about laws and it shows.

I've got a crazy idea. Not exactly related to this case. Why don't the people who hold the funeral processions just tell everybody to meet at the gate of the cemetery, where they can put the balloons on their cars and SLOWLY walk the deceased person to the burial site, instead of causing traffic jams for thousands of people who could care less?