IF you?re paranoid about safety on the streets of Metro Manila, or even if you think your luck may not hold out through a particular day, it?s best to avoid the streets of Quezon City.

The latest Metro Manila Accident Reporting and Analysis System (MMARAS) of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has just released its findings that Quezon City has had the most number of recorded traffic accidents for the first nine months of the year.

The report explains that the high incidence of traffic accidents in the area may simply be due to the fact that Quezon City is a central business district (CBD), thus, social and economic activity is high. It notes too that the city has the biggest land area among the cities in Metro Manila, on top of which the major thoroughfares in the metropolis, such as Commonwealth Ave., Quezon Ave. and some areas of EDSA are also located within the city.

Want to stay on the safe side? Then don?t go beyond the municipality of Pateros, which registered the lowest number of traffic accidents from January to September 2008. Of course it must be noted that Pateros has a small land area and no major roads compared to other cities. The town is also not considered a CBD and so, understandably, has a manageable traffic direction and control.

The MMDA further notes that most of the accidents occur at daytime but that fatal accidents are higher at night and during the wee hours in the morning.

The report notes that MMDA has been coming up with solutions to minimize road accidents like the installation of ?Pedestrian Footbridges? along Metro Manila?s major thoroughfares, improvement of sidewalks and strict apprehension of traffic violators by the various traffic enforcement units, among others.

Through cross-table querying, the MMARAS has also come up with a list of accident prone areas in the cities of Caloocan, Makati, Las Piñas, Marikina, Mandaluyong, Manila and Quezon City, based on the number of fatal and non-fatal accidents, as well as property-damaging accidents that occurred in these areas during the first quarter of the year.

Makati?s Osmeña Highway cor. Pasay Road had the most number of accidents during the time period covered.

Established in June 2002, the MMARAS is a database of road accidents in the metro created to indicate areas where safety improvements need to be made. It is compiled by the MMDA Road Safety Unit (RSU) and Traffic Operations Center (TOC).