Metro Manila averaged 86 motorcycle accidents a day in 2019

MMDA reports a rise in motorcycle accidents in Metro Manila for 2019

An average of 86 motorcycle-related road accidents have occurred in 2019 according to the MMDA’s Metro Manila Accident Reporting and Analysis System (MMARAS), a detailed annual report on road accident statistics compiled by the MMDA. The full report can be viewed here.

In the report, 31,279 motorcycle-related accidents were reported in 2019, averaging to 86 incidents a day. This is a 17% increase from the 26,652 motorcycle-related accidents reported in 2018, averaging to 73 incidents per day. Thankfully, there’s only an 8% increase in fatalities with 221 reported in 2019 from the 204 reported in 2018.

Fatalities

Of the fatalities, a large majority of the deaths involved the driver of the motorcycle, comprising 154 of the 221 total. Passengers were the second most likely to meet their end, numbering at 36 out of the 221. Finally, pedestrians were close at 22 out of the 221 total deaths.

Injuries

With regard to injuries, it is the driver again that comprises the largest majority, amounting to 9,655 injured out of the 14,691 total. Passengers were again the second most numerous at 2,546. As for pedestrians, 2,140 were involved in these accidents. While only a small percentage of these motorcycle-related accidents prove fatal, a large percentage do result in injuries.

Worst roads

Contrary to what we thought, EDSA takes the lion’s share of motorcycle accidents, with 17,382 reported in 2019. 8,735 were reported on C5, making it second. Commonwealth Ave., often called the deadliest road in the country, actually came in third at 4,998 motorcycle-related accidents reported. The most deaths were actually recorded in C5, followed by EDSA, and Roxas, Blvd.

Worst time

The month of December reported the most accidents, followed by October and March. As for the time of day, the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. have the most motorcycle-related accidents reported.

Causes

Sideswipes were the leading type of collision, amounting to 9,299. For the incidents where a cause was listed (only 181 out of 31,279), the leading cause was Loss of Control, with Driving Under the Influence (DUI) at a distant second. Unfortunately, it’s hard to tell for sure as about 31,000 of these accidents have no cause listed at all.

If there’s anything this set of statistics proves, it’s that the reality of motorcycle accidents is far from our expectations. Many of these happened in daylight; during the morning rush; during dry months; in busy and congested streets like EDSA, C5, and Commonwealth. Thankfully, the fatality rate is low, but that is no reason to be complacent. The likelihood of being injured and damaging property is still quite high.

As such, always be attentive when riding, even if the traffic is moving slowly. Wear the proper safety gear. Make yourself visible and audible. And ride considerately.