METRO Pacific Tollways South Corp. (MPT South) has feted technology as the solid reason for reaching its goal of ending 2017 without any fatality on the Manila-Cavite Toll Expressway.
MPT South President Luigi L. Bautista said the company reached its goal because “we have done numerous enhancements and upgrades to our operations.”
He listed the said enhancements as a newly -renovated traffic control room using the latest top-of-the-line Intelligent Video Analytic HD quality CCTV cameras that allow patrol officers to promptly respond to accidents and other emergencies; as well as installation of additional LED lights into toll road and enhancements of directional and warning signages at the carriageway.
Bautista, however, didn’t say how much the company invested for these enhancements and upgrades. He added the zero-fatality rate also comes from MPT’s “strict implementation” of traffic laws on overspeeding, overloading, seatbelt use, limited access facility, highway usage, animal welfare and solid-waste management.
The traffic laws are enforced by the patrol crew who are deputized traffic enforcement agents by the Land Transportation Office (LTO), “which significantly reduced vehicular accidents that could result to fatalities.”
Bautista said MPT also has in place a safety advocacy in which volunteer-employees reach out to local government units in their host communities, transport groups and related organizations to conduct learning sessions, where topics on safe driving on the expressways, the relationship between the expressway design vis-a-vis using the recommended speed are discussed.
Customer engagement is practiced through social-media platforms to communicate the growing online community by publishing advisories, safety reminders and tips, weather bulletins and traffic updates, as well as face-to-face interaction for motorists who prefer to talk to the customer service personnel regarding products and services, Bautista added. “Safety is really everyone’s business, it is not limited to just one person or department, it is a shared responsibility,” he added.