QUEZON City 3rd District Rep. Allan Benedict Reyes pushed for the integration of road traffic safety education in the high school curriculum.

In filing House Bill 7955 or the proposed Road Safety Education Act of 2020, Reyes stressed that road injury is a global health and development problem.

Reyes, in his explanatory note, cited data from Dr. Margaret Chan, former World Health Organization director general, that more than 1.2 million people die on roads every year and 50 million others are injured.

“Human factor plays a critical role in the occurrence of road traffic injuries. The behavior of pedestrians, motorcyclists, and cyclists is a human factor that must be improved in order to prevent these accidents,” Reyes said.

The lawmaker added that there should be an institutionalized approach to educate the public, starting with the youth, about traffic and road safety principles.

House Bill 7955 mandates the Department of Education, in coordination with the Department of Transportation, Land Transportation Office, representatives of public and private high schools and other stakeholders, to develop instruction materials and modules on road traffic safety for integration in the national high school curriculum.

The bill also tasked the DepEd to study the best practices of other countries in crafting instructional materials and modules.