ALARMED by the rising number of road traffic accidents in the country, 1-Rider Party-list Rep. Ramon Rodrigo Gutierrez has filed a measure seeking to include basic road safety and comprehensive driver’s education in the K to 12 curriculum.

Under House Bill No. 5340, or the proposed Road Safety and Comprehensive Driver’s Education Act, Gutierrez aims to instill awareness, discipline, and responsibility among future road users—both drivers and pedestrians—by teaching road safety principles as early as elementary school.

“Thousands of lives are lost to road accidents every year. What makes these deaths particularly tragic is that they are largely preventable,” Gutierrez said in the bill’s explanatory note.

Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, Gutierrez noted that 13,125 Filipinos died due to land transport accidents in 2023, the highest figure in more than a decade.

The number represents 1.9 percent of all deaths nationwide, with young adults aged 20 to 24 recording the most fatalities from 2010 to 2023.

The proposed measure mandates the integration of basic road safety into the elementary curriculum and comprehensive driver’s education into junior and senior high school, as well as higher education programs.

An ad hoc curriculum committee will be formed to design the program, composed of representatives from the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, Department of Transportation, Land Transportation Office, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.

The committee, chaired by the DepEd Secretary, will have one year to finalize the curriculum. Thereafter, the participating agencies will ensure its continuous implementation.