The South Luzon Tollway Corporation (SLTC) has instituted additional safety measures at the rehabilitated South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) to curb road-related accidents and to counteract “unsafe” driving habits of motorists.

According to SLTC spokesperson Alma Tuazon, the operator of the SLEx is taking “extra steps to ensure safety of motorists” given the results of the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System conducted by the Department of Health (DoH), which reported a total of 3,077 road accident-related injuries in the first quarter of 2010.

Since the result of the DoH study translates to 34 people getting hurt on the road every day, Tuazon said starting this month, the SLTC will deploy tow trucks, boom trucks, water trucks, patrol cars and motorcycles along the new SLEx to provide assistance or conduct patrol operation among motorists, who often have the tendency to overspeed.

“Now that road accidents have become one of the leading causes of injuries in the country today, we at SLTC felt the need to institute more safety measures at the SLEx,” she said.

As part of the SLTC’s road safety campaign, Tuazon said emergency lay-bys have been constructed in key areas along the toll road. Roving patrols have also been made on call 24/7 to provide towing and mechanical services as well as medical ambulances, emergency life-line support and pre-hospital care to injured travelers.

The SLTC has also installed closed circuit television cameras (CCTVs) along the highway and electronic message boards atop toll plazas to provide real-time advisories on traffic situations, exact location of accidents (if any), and other traffic-related advisories.

“Aside from providing better roads and putting up added safety measures, the SLTC also wishes to assure motorists that help would be made available to them whenever they need it. So, in case the car you were driving or riding on gets stalled, patrol men will be there to assess your situation and protect you and your vehicle,” she said.

But despite the added safety facilities along SLEx, road safety depends largely on motorists themselves, Tuazon stressed.

“We are urging motorists to be more careful and to observe proper road etiquette especially when driving on a newly-built highway like the SLEx where one would often have the tendency to speed up to over 100 kilometer per hour given a wider road and smoother road surfaces to drive into,” she added.