Drivers of private and public utility vehicles who would figure in road accidents would be compelled to enroll at the Driving Academy which the Philippine National Police (PNP) wants to set up to instill discipline among motorists nationwide.

“We will be including that in the proposition, we are still in the fine-tuning stage,” said Senior Supt. Leonardo Espina, PNP spokesman.

The Driving Academy would be part of the Traffic Enforcement Academy which was proposed in December last year following a series of road accidents that claimed the lives of a number of motorists and public utility vehicle passengers across the country.

Espina said the multi-agency National Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee is expected to meet again anytime in September this year to finalize the proposal.

“The goal is to organize a driving committee for everybody that would focus on safety, and the strict observance of the rules and regulations governing traffic safety,” said Espina.

“So it’s not just that you go into a Driving Academy and you learn how to drive. This is focused more on discipline,” he said.

Among the subjects that would be discussed are the area where the Driving Academy would be set up as well as its funding.

Espina said the institution would likely operate using the income that it would generate from the enrollees.

Espina said the Driving Academy proposal is timely, what with the series of road accidents that have occurred for the past months, the most recent one being the collision of two passenger buses in Lucena City that left nine people dead and 41 others injured.

Records from the PNP-Highway Patrol Group (HPG) also showed that some 9,200 road accidents occurred from January to March this year alone, with the same report stating that most of the accidents occurred because of overspeeding.

As one of the initial measures against road accidents, Chief Supt. Orlando Mabutas, HPG director, said they will be implementing remedial measures such as the installation of road safety banners and the establishment of HPG Motorist Safety Control Points manned by HPG-supervised Force Multipliers deployed in strategic locations along the national highways.

“The HPG Motorists Safety Control Points shall serve as distribution points for leaflets, flyers and information materials on safe driving to inform motorists of the road condition ahead, and putting up of precautionary and informative signages and warning signs to ensure safe travel of the public,” said Mabutas.