Car dealers to help promote responsible motoring

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. File picture shows Honda Cars Cebu Inc. general manager Tito Solomon (left) attending to a customer in their showroom in Nivel Hills, Lahug. The Cebu Automotive Dealers Association has agreed to help City Hall promote road courtesy.
(CDN FILE PHOTO)

Traffic authorities in Cebu City yesterday sought the help of car dealers to remind buyers of new cars as well as their after-sales customers to be responsible road users.

In particular, Victor Caindec, the new executive director of the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom), wanted to educate motorists to practice road courtesy.

Caindec yesterday made this pitch during the monthly meeting of the Cebu Auto Dealers Association (Cada).

Cada president Lowell Belarmino said they believe that having motorists with the proper attitude on the road would also help ease the traffic problems currently being experienced in Metro Cebu.

“Traffic problem has become a pressing issue for the industry. Our association can help by educating our buyers on having proper attitude with driving cars and be considerate to others,” he said.

The car dealers’ meeting was also attended by members of the Professionals for Active Citizenship and Transformation (Pact), headed by public relations man, Cerwin Eviota.

Pact had launched a sticker campaign calling for proper road attitude.

The #GiveWayTaBai stickers are being sold for P30.

“We want people to place these stickers in their cars. If they do, they become more conscious to being responsible road users,” Eviota said.

Belarmino said they’re confident with Caindec heading Citom and are expecting better motorists in the streets.

According to the Cada, the average monthly car sales in Cebu hovers at 1,000 units. They expect the number to double in the next five years which they fear would further aggravate the traffic situation.

According to statistics from the National Center for Transport Studies, there was a total of 5.5 million  registered motor vehicles nationwide in 2007, of which  436,156 units were in Central Visayas.

Jose Manuel Cuenco, founding president of Cada who is also senior vice president of Toyota, said government agencies should look for more long-term solutions in addressing traffic problems.

“We need to have good road infrastructure and an efficient public road system so Cebu can handle the pace of growth of the industry. But it’s only good for the next few years. A long-term solution can be to spread the population of the city in the north and south so traffic will be manageable,” Cuenco said.

For Citom’s part, Caindec said they appreciate active citizen participation in addressing traffic issues and concerns.

“Partnering with groups like Cada and civic groups allows us to have more people watching the roads. Citom needs eyes on the roads,” he said.

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