PNP-HPG to develop division to find cause of road crashes

August 30, 2019

The Philippine National Police- Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) said they are looking into developing the first investigation division to find out what has been causing road crashes.

"We are actually going to develop the very first in the country, the Major Road Crash Investigation Division," Police Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Tanseco, PNP-HPG Operations Management Division, told reporters last Wednesday.

"Meaning (it's) a dedicated investigation division to determine the real cause of road crash (incidents)," he said.

Tanseco said they are also eyeing on adding 12,000 personnel in their unit.

"We are eyeing, the Highway Patrol Group plans to submit a proposal for reorganization and restructuring... we will increase the number of our personnel (to) make us capable not only for road safety but also road security," he added.

As of 2019, the PNP-HPG has 1,611 personnel.

Tanseco added that the PNP-HPG were awarded the Road Safety Award for 2018 in Indonesia.

"(It) just goes to show you how we have taken the lead in road safety in the country," he said.

During the Capacity Development Workshop on Road Safety for Southeast Asia Subregion, the PNP-HPG showed their Data for Road Incident Visualization Evaluation Reporting System (DRIVERS) to ASEAN representatives.

Tanseco said DRIVERS is a project of World Bank through the Department of Transportation and is being used by different agencies to collect, report, and use data. "It's open to the public," he said.

The PNP-HPG said some ASEAN countries wants to adapt the system.

"And it could be a help to us as they can also share their ideas about how we can improve our system," said Tanseco. Ella Dionisio/DMS