DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 19 Dec) – The portion of the Davao City Coastal Road where a 20-year-old rider died when he lost control of his motorcycle before dawn on Tuesday indeed has a bumpy and uneven surface, riders attested.
John Paul Ortillana, who regularly passes the route on his way to work, told MindaNews Thursday morning that the road surface is “obviously” uneven that it might cause accidents if a motorcycle rider is not careful, or when drunk or sleepy.
The portion of the coastal road where the accident occurred, which is adjacent to NHA Bangkal, has a slight slope going up, then levels off, Ortillana described.
He said the rider who died, Kharyl Brigole Sevilla, may have “overshot” as he passed that part of the bumpy road, the reason he lost control of the motorcycle. “When you reach that part of the road, you should slow down,” Ortillana stressed.
Another motorcycle rider, Jinggoy Lam, said the uneven surface slightly bothers him when he reaches that part of the road. “You should slow down even before you reach that part. I nearly met an accident there, but luckily I was able to engage the brakes in time,” he added.
MindaNews passed by the area aboard a taxi, but the uneven surface described by the motorcycle riders was not apparent. (The taxi driver refused to stop in the area, afraid that he would be issued a ticket by traffic enforcers, one of them was on a motorbike tailing the taxi.)
Taxi driver Ronaldo Almaden acknowledged that when on a four-wheel vehicle, the uneven surface could not be felt. “But when you’re riding a motorbike, then you’ll see the difference,” he said.
Almaden said that a colleague of his, Joven Asong dela Peña, died in the same part of the coastal road while riding a motorcycle on Dec. 11.
In a statement, the Department of Public Works and Highway – Region 11 said they will be looking into the matter. But DPWH-11 spokesperson Dean Ortiz said that as far as the agency is concerned, “the approaches of the Matina Aplaya bridge are within the prescribed standards set by the Department.”
“We also urge motorists to strictly follow the speed limit set by the [city government] through the CTTMO [City Transport and Traffic Management Office] in the said road,” Ortiz added.
According to a spot report from the Davao City Police Office (DCPO), the latest incident at the coastal road happened around 3:40 a.m. on Tuesday when Sevilla lost control of his motorcycle as he was navigating a particularly “rough section” of the road.
Cpt. Hazel Tuazon, DCPO spokesperson, said Sevilla was not carrying a driver’s license and his motorcycle had no plate.
This is not the first time accidents have happened along the coastal road.
The DCPO has reported two separate accidents, on Sept. 28 and Dec. 11, when speeding motorcycles hit the gutters by the roadside. The drivers died on both occasions. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)
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