Worst Accident at (Porac Pampanga) SCText

[Hanren]

[SIZE=3]I just watched/read with horror the accident at SCTEX (Porac Pampanga) yesterday at 7 pm where an army truck and an SUV collided with each other. 4 people died (2 soldiers and a couple) Speculations are rife that it has something to do with the dark portions of the road. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]Here's the link to the news: [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]http://www.gmanews.tv/story/135747/4...SCTEX-accident[/SIZE]

4 killed, 2 hurt in SCTEX accident
11/26/2008 | 09:45 AM

MANILA, Philippines – Four people were killed while two others were injured in a road accident involving a military truck and a sport utility vehicle along the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) section in Pampanga province Tuesday night.

In an interview over GMA-7’s Unang Hirit Wednesday morning, Tollways Management Corp. spokesperson Betty Jose said the incident occurred about 7:15 p.m. near the Pasig-Potrero Bridge in Porac town, Pampanga.

Two of the fatalities were aboard the 6x6 military truck while the other two were passengers of the Mitsubishi Outlander SUV, another report aired over Unang Hirit said.

Major Segundo Mitran said the remains of one of their men will be brought to Pangasinan province while the remains of another to Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija. Mitran added that because the two Army men died in the line of duty, their families are entitled to full benefits.

An earlier report on dzBB radio identified the soldiers as Pfc. Manolito Calasiag and Pfc. Jason Fajardo of the Army's 3rd Infantry Battalion.

Injured were Pfc. Loreto Gasingan and Alex Franco. The two were brought to V. Luna Medical Center in Quezon City.

The other two fatalities were identified as Apolinario Bernabe and his wife Dr. Teresita Bernabe, the passengers of a Mitsubishi Outlander SUV.

In the television interview, Jose said the driver of the Outlander was trying to overtake another vehicle but “she miscalculated" and slammed into the military truck.

"Ang initial findings namin, high-speed ang Outlander, miscalculation ng driver ng Outlander. I think he was supposed to overtake, tumama sa truck (Our initial findings were that the Outlander was traveling at high speed but the driver miscalculated while trying to overtake)," Jose said.

Jose said this is the first major accident in the SCTEX. She added that the newly-opened thoroughfare was “well-lighted and had reflectorized lane markings."

She then advised motorists in the SCTEX to take added precaution and to avoid over-speeding.

“Paalala lang po sa mga motorista lalo na po sa gabi, huwag naman po mag-overspeed (We remind motorists especially those traveling at night not to overspeed)," she said. - Sophia Dedace, GMANews.TV

[chua_riwap]

Napanood ko rin ito sa 24 Oras. Grabe, 4 ang patay. Yung Military truck nagkahiwa-hiwalay. Yung SUV, ganun din. (Halos kapareho nung accident sa NLEX nung Nov.1). Nabangga raw ng SUV yung rear side ng Military truck. Baka di raw napansin yung truck, kasi madilim yung lugar.

Habang kinukunan ng footage yung accident scene, humahagibis yung mga sasakyan. Ang bibilis! Ngayon ko lang nakita ang SCTEX, ganda pala, ang kinis, kaya, gayuma yan sa mga speedsters.

Ingat na lang mga Tsikoteers kung nasa SCTEX tayo.

Teka, ano po ba speedlimit sa SCTEX? Di ba mahigpit dun gaya ng NLEX?

[boybi]

Same as NLEX, 100kph din ang speed limit. May nanghuhuli din naman ng overspeeding sa SCTEx, but since nangyari ang accident 7pm, wala na yung mga nanghuhuli.

[Zeus]

Madilim na, at di pa yata bukas yung ilaw ng tail light ng truck o baka pundido kaya di makita ng suv...

[dadz]

This should be a lesson for the others na sobrang bilis mag pa takbo, observe the right and proper speed limit, and always look out on other drivers.

[Horsepower]

Baka ang dilim ng tint nung outlander kaya di nya nakita. It's quite impossible to miss a Military 6x6 truck sa ingay pa lang nun mapapansin mo na. Kawawa naman yung mga sundalo. Stupid driver, nagpatakbo ng mabilis di naman pala kaya controllin nandamay pa.

[ghosthunter]

Hmmm, maybe we should look at this from a less emotional point of view.

Military truck = dark camouflage paint
SCTEX = no road lights at night
SCTEX = not expecting stationary vehicles on the road
7:00pm = darkness all around

Massive damages to both vehicles = big speed difference between two vehicle.

-why was the the military truck doing loitering around the SCTEX in the darkness?

-if the military truck had its tail-lights turned on, why didn't the SUV see it as it closed in on it. Even if the truck was going just 60kph and he SUV at 120kph, it would still give you enough time to see the vehicle as you close in.

Thought, if the witness said the driver miscalculated the overtake maneuver, might it be the driver actually was asleep at the wheel? I dont find it difficult to become sleepy driving on the SCTEX if I am driving within the legal speed limits. It is monotonous and boring.

[CoDer]

The outlander driver is clearly at fault here, not only that he was driving too fast but was apparently not paying attention to what's in front of him.

Instinct na sa atin na pag madilim at wala namang gaanong nakakasalubong na sasakyan eh switch agad tayo sa high beam, kahit humahataw ka pa ng 120kph kitang-kita mo pa rin ang nasa harapan mo.

[niky]

There are two questions:

1. Was the Outlander driver paying attention to the road? Even when I'm doing 100 km/h in the dead of the night, I can still see a pedestrian in dark clothes or a stalled truck at over 100 meters distance. The only way you can't see such things is if your tint is too dark or you're outdriving your headlights.

2. Well-lit? The SCTEX is as dark as the depths of Moria at night. Unless this is the portion close to Clark. Everything else is pitch black.

[Gen. Miting]

what if the army truck is on a stakeout kaya patay ilaw. sabi kasi ng superior, the 2 died in the line of duty

[carchase]

Hindi kaya nawalan ng preno? Pero dapat kakabig naman nya yung manubela. And brand new rin SUV.

[isketi]

Malamang nakatulog yung driver. That's the most plausible explanation for this mishap.

[XTO]

even at 100 kph limit if the driver is not on top of his mind, mangyayari't mangyayari yan. saw the footage tipong papa-liko rin yung road so kung makinis at medyo blind talagang mabubulaga ka even at 90kph, but the worst just happened... sayang ang mga buhay nila.....

deadly rin talaga may capabilities bumitaw ng ganyang katulin, imagine nyo kung kayo nasa lagay ng military truck tapos may humahagibis then sabihin nating na-miscalculate ang situation at over 100 kph sigurado di lang galos aabutin natin.

everytime on the road talagang kalakip ang aksidente....kahit ayaw mo pa.

ingats nalang

[batangmahal]

first and worst nga ito (so far)... never tried sctex at night because i've heard nga that it's not well-lit... well, there are portions also at nlex na wala ring ilaw. worse pa ang slex!

defensive driving na lang lagi.

[kumagbehota]

nakadaan na ako jan ng 4 ng madaling araw, parang 10% pa lang noon ang may ilaw the rest talagang parang nakapikit ka lang. at ang konti ng dumadaan kaya nakakatakot. mag isa pa naman ako noon kaya walang 100kph ang takbo ko at baka me magpakitang mumu...

pansin ko lang din jan daming military truck na dumadaan, sa 3x kong dumaan jan 3x din ako naka salubong ng convoy, in fairness di naman sila hazard sa daan, nasa slow lane sila at malalayo yung agwat nila...

[CVT]

Used SCTEX only twice, going to Subic (morning) and going back to NLEX (dusk and raining). And, I must admit that it is a speed come on. Ingat lang tayo sa pagmamaneho...

(The stretch of NLEX from San Fernando, Pampanga to the last exit going north, was also not lighted.....)

7000:diver:

[JPG111]

nakadaan na ako jan ng 4 ng madaling araw, parang 10% pa lang noon ang may ilaw the rest talagang parang nakapikit ka lang. at ang konti ng dumadaan kaya nakakatakot. mag isa pa naman ako noon kaya walang 100kph ang takbo ko at baka me magpakitang mumu...

Sigurado ako mey magpapakitang mumu na dun.. Sayang yung mga 4 na namatay,may they rest in peace..tragic accident..

Ingat sa pag drive..be a defensive driver, not a kaskasero

[leonleon]

This should be a lesson for the others na sobrang bilis mag pa takbo, observe the right and proper speed limit, and always look out on other drivers.

This should also serve as a lesson to those with no proper lights on their vehicles like the military truck, lalo na if you are travelling in a high speed zone.

Ang ilaw ay di lang para sa kapakanan ng may-ari ng auto. It is also for the safety of other motorists. Dami kasi dyan walang pakialam sa ibang motorista, sarili lang ang iniisip.

[sarceangel]

Madalas ako dumaan diyan ng gabi at madaling araw tuwing uuwi ako sa bataan, talagang madilim kaya lagi ako naka-high beam para malayo pa lang makikita ko na dadaanan ko....we should be always cautious in driving especially during dark hours....

kawawa mga namatay...may they rest in peace...

[Hanren]

I used the SCtex twice already on a night trips. One of my concerns was the absence of sufficient lighting especially those approaching La Paz exit. If you are not using your headlights up high, you will not be able to see the exit markers right away. Another concern is the security. A friend told me not to travel using that road at night because you can easily be acosted by criminals (lalo na at kokonti pa dumadaan sa ngayon lalo na sa gabi)

One night in one of my journeys using the NLEX northbound (to Baguio)and using low beam, I failed to immediately notice the railings that divided the road (NLex) with the road going towards SCtex and I nearly crashed into them.

What puzzles me is the extent of the damages to both vehicles considering that they did not collide head on. Hindi rin kaya nag sudden slow down yung truck?