At least 78 individuals died due to road accidents in 2023, but the figure could be higher as police records only show fatalities at the time of the incident while some deaths occur after victims are brought to hospitals following the mishap.

A Traffic and Vehicular Accidents Report covering the period beginning January 1 up to December 27 of this year which was provided by the Bohol Police Provincial Office (BPPO) to The Chronicle shows that about 7% of those involved in traffic and vehicular accidents are minors.

Most common causes of road accidents are speeding, drunk driving, stray dogs or animals and texting while driving.

Based on the BPPO data, 1,741 of the reported incidents resulted physical injuries to either the victims or the suspects while 1,561 of the mishaps resulted in damage to property or the vehicles involved.

There were 266 minors among the reported victims while 189 minors were also involved as suspects.

On the other hand, there were 3,118 individuals of legal age who were reported as victims while 3,177 were involved as suspects.

A total of 6,750 persons, minors and those of legal age, were involved in vehicular or traffic mishaps, according to the BPPO report.

A United Nations report cited road accidents as the highest non-disease cause of death worldwide.

Here in Bohol, many of the accidents were due to dogs that have gone astray.

Despite ordinances being enacted in some of the municipalities here requiring residents to be responsible dog owners, stray dogs still abound streets and highways endangering motorcycle riders.

At least two municipal ordinances calling for responsible pet ownership however have faced criticism from animal rights and welfare groups.